To Dream but not to Sleep
by joanorbis
Summary: AU. The world is lawless and Lima is run by a gang. A new arrival starts a chain reaction which will change everyone's lives forever. Major character deaths, serious injury. Originally posted on AO3
1. Chapter 1

Marley ducked down behind the wall and tried to catch her breath. She looked up to the sky and said a silent prayer, even though she was fairly confident that no one was listening. She concentrated on slowing her breathing and getting her nerves to settle. She hadn't slept in close to sixty hours and she was exhausted and starving.

After a couple of minutes she made herself take a quick peek around the wall. She was fairly sure that she had lost them but she needed to know. It was the middle of the night and there were no street lights around here, unsurprisingly, but from what she could make out there was no movement.

She decided to wait a couple more minutes to be sure and to give her heart a little more time to recover. She looked around and tried to work out which way to go. Not that it seemed to matter. She hadn't known where she was ever since she'd got to this godforsaken town, what difference would it make now? She just needed somewhere to get some sleep, somewhere she could hide that was small enough to go unnoticed and easily defensible.

Marley held her hands out in front of her and willed them to stop shaking. "Come on, get it together." She whispered to herself.

Sneaking another peek around the wall to be certain, she set off in the opposite direction to which she had come, staying low and using cover wherever possible. In the distance she could see a low building with a glass front, possibly some kind of abandoned store. She figured it was worth checking out as maybe there was something salvageable in there, so she cautiously made her way over to it.

She was about fifty feet away from it when she saw them. Four girls, about her age maybe, all dressed in red and white jackets. She crouched down behind a fallen dumpster and watched them, feeling woefully exposed. They just seemed to be standing there chatting, not a care in the world. Marley wondered how anyone could behave that way in this place. Finally they started to move away and she breathed a sigh of relief.

Once they had rounded the corner she sprinted to better cover and waited a couple of minutes to make sure she was alone then slowly began to cover the remaining distance. She could see that one of the windows was broken on the side closest to her, but there was about ten feet of open space between her and it. She didn't know what to do. On the one hand, now that she was so close she could see that the building did indeed used to be a grocery store and there was a small possibility that she could find something to eat. On the other, that possibility was so small, and the risk of being spotted as she ran across the car park so great, she wasn't sure it was worth it. But then, if she didn't get something to eat and some sleep soon she was going to be in serious trouble.

"Well, you can't just sit here forever." She told herself. She forced herself out of her position and ran as fast and quietly as she could across the parking lot. With barely a pause she vaulted through the window and had to smother the cry of pain that forced out as she sliced her shoulder on a shard of glass she hadn't spotted. She kept moving until she was far enough away from the window to not be seen from outside, then stopped to inspect the damage.

"Shit!" She whispered, tears pouring down her face as she saw the deep cut on her shoulder. It was bleeding freely and she desperately needed something to staunch the flow, but since the guys who had jumped her had stolen her backpack she had nothing but the t shirt and jeans she was wearing. She spun around quickly, panicking and aware she was making too much noise, blindly searching for any kind of fabric she could use. She spotted a pile of rags in the corner and sprinted over to them, noticing that they smelled awful but not really in a position to care. She pulled her own t shirt over the wound so that the rags wouldn't be directly touching her and fell to the ground in a heap, willing herself not to lose it completely.

And that was when she saw the flashlight.

Someone was coming. Move, Marley. Move! She couldn't. She was frozen to the spot, paralysed with fear. She closed her eyes and shook her head, trying to get her body to co-operate, and she saw her mother's face. God, she missed her mom. She heard a noise and her body seemed to get the message. She stood up and moved deeper into the store trying to find cover. Near the back there were some abandoned shelves. If anyone came over this way she'd be caught, but if they stayed towards the front she would be hidden, and it was all she had. She crouched down beside them and looked over just in time to see two of the girls in the red and white jackets climb in through the window, shining the torch around the abandoned store.

"Come out, come out wherever you are!" One of them sing songed.

"We saw you come in here and Kitty wants to play." The other one laughed. "She doesn't like it when we keep her waiting."

Marley felt her blood run cold. The girls didn't look like much. They were shorter than her and she thought she would be in with a fair chance on a normal day, but she was exhausted and starving and down to one arm.

Suddenly a hand covered her mouth and a strong arm pulled her back. Thankfully she was too shocked and terrified to make a sound, because whoever it was pulled her out of sight just as the flashlight beam pointed at her previous location.

Marley tried to relax as she was manouvered silently backwards, realising it was possible she was being dragged to a worse fate but not really having any options to work with. A hand on her head forced her lower, which was a concern, but she saw they were going through a hole in the wall and tried to keep her body flexible. As soon as they were through she was turned around and moved forward at a quicker pace until she was pushed through a doorway into a small room. The door closed quietly behind them and she was released. She backed away as fast as she could and turned to face her captor/saviour.

"What the fuck are you doing in here?" A muscular guy with a mohawk hissed at her. Behind him, her back to her with an ear to the door was a short brunette. "You're gonna get us all killed."

"Ssh!" The brunette hissed.

Marley just stared at them, willing herself to stay calm. She felt like she was going to collapse.

"Alright," The brunette whispered eventually. "It doesn't sound like they saw you come back here but it won't be long before they check anyway. We need to move fast." She moved to the other side of the room where there was a second door that Marley hadn't spotted. She really needed food. "Puck, you take her. And get something on that wound, would you? That rag doesn't look at all sanitary." The girl pressed her ear to the second door and listened for a couple of seconds. "I'll go first and make sure it's clear. You follow at a safe distance. Stay out of sight. If they see me you hide til they are gone and get her to safety."

"Are you fucking crazy?" The guy hissed. "There's no fucking way I'm letting them take you!"

"You will do as I say, Puckerman. Now be quiet." The brunette barely looked at him, yet he seemed to lose all his fight. After a second he turned and walked over to Marley, anger blazing in his eyes. He turned her roughly and inspected her would, then pulled some kind of bandage from his bag and wrapped it quickly around her shoulder.

"Okay," The girl whispered. "Let's go."

"Berry," Puck whispered back. "If they take you…"

"If they take me, hopefully she'll protect me."

"And what if she's not there?"

The girl just looked at him. "Let's just get out of here." She pressed her ear to the door one last time and opened it.

Puck held Marley in front of him and pushed her gently down the corridor after the girl. It was pitch black but she could vaguely make out the other girl's movements ahead. Suddenly Puck put his hand on her shoulder, pulling her to a stop, and she could just make out a bit of light seeping in from near the floor. As her eyes adjusted she saw the girl drop down and push herself through the gap and waited for some sign that she should start moving again. After what felt like an age Puck pushed her slightly and she inched towards the gap.

"Well, hey there!" A voice broke the silence from the other side of the wall. Puck yanked her back and began dragging her further down the corridor. "Lookey what we got here, Kitty!"

"Oh my," A second voice purred. "Rachel Berry. Momma will be pleased."

* * *

Marley was running again. This time, though, the guy behind wasn't chasing her, he was directing her. As far as she could tell they weren't being followed, but she somehow felt worse. A girl that she had just met had put herself in Marley's place. She had no idea why, or what fate awaited her, but she felt sick about it. All she could do now was run.

Eventually they came to a chain link fence and Puck moved in front of her to lift a corner of it, his eyes darting around behind them, scanning for possible threats. She ducked under it and waited for him to follow, then started running again as he placed a hand to the small of her back. The adrenaline was starting to wear off now and she really thought she might pass out. They were running over a grass field which she realised, by the posts sticking out of the ground, one of them tilted at a wild angle, used to be a football field. The building in front of them that they were running towards she therefore assumed to be a school, correctly it turned out. They reached a door and Puck tapped out a complicated sequence of knocks at which point the door creaked open and they were granted access.

"Who's this?" The guy who opened the door asked.

"My latest fuck buddy, asshat." Puck spat. "Now get back to work." He put his hand on her back again and pushed her forward.

She looked back at the guy with floppy hair and too many teeth in something of a panic but continued forward. At this point what choice did she have? She took in her surroundings as best she could in the low lighting. It just looked like an old school, as much as she could remember. She hadn't been to school in...five years? Six? Not since the world had gone to hell.

Halfway down the corridor she was shoved into a room. It was rectangular with white walls and tiered seating along the back wall. She took in the fact that there were two doors onto the corridor and a small room with windows off to the side. There was also a beat up old piano. Marley hadn't seen one of those since…

"Who's this?" A tall, thick set guy asked.

"Fuck knows." Puck responded, closing though door behind him. "Some dumb fucking chick who thought it was a good idea to sneak into Cheerios territory by herself."

"Um, where's Rachel?" A thin guy with ridiculously coiffed hair and a pleasantly effeminate voice asked.

Suddenly all eyes in the room were on her and Puck. In addition to tall guy and thin guy there was a wiry asian guy and a heavy set girl, who was eyeing her suspiciously. All of them seemed to be holding their breath.

"Well, that's just the thing." Puck spat. "Berry decided it would be better for me to get our new friend here to safety than protect her."

He stalked over to the piano and placed his hands on it, keeping his back to them.

"What are you saying, Puckerman?" The tall guy asked quietly.

The room was dead silent.

"Puck?" Tall guy asked again, more forcefully this time.

"I'm saying they fucking have her, alright?" Puck yelled, punching the top of the piano. "I'm saying she fucking gave herself to them so me and this fucking random could get out of there!" He gestured angrily at Marley.

"Oh, hell no!" The girl cried.

Marley pressed herself up against a wall and tried desperately not to attract any extra attention. The room fell silent as all eyes turned to the tall guy in the centre of the room. He was leaning on one of the chairs, his hands wrapped around the metal bar at the top. His knuckles were white. Slowly he stood up straight and Marley could see the muscles in his jaw working. Suddenly his leg shot out and he kicked the chair across the room, then stormed over to the other door and yanked it open, slamming it behind him.

"Well," The thin guy broke the silence after a few moments. "As I forsee Finn being his usual helpful self during this crisis I suggest we come up with a plan. Mike, could you possibly get...I'm sorry, my dear, what is your name?"

It took a few seconds for her to realise that someone was actually speaking to her. "M..Marley." She stuttered.

"Marley. Delightful to meet you, although I only wish it were under better circumstances. I'm Kurt." He turned his attention back to the asian guy. "Mike, could you please get Marley settled in?"

"Sure." He lifted himself out of his seat and ambled over to her, smiling as he approached. "Follow me." He said kindly, holding the door open for her.

She started out into the corridor, too exhausted to speak.

"You look like you're in a pretty bad way. You want food first or the nurse's office?"

She chuckled at the use of such a term, knowing there probably hasn't been a nurse present for at least five years. "Food, please. I'm pretty sure it's stopped bleeding."

"Cool." He nodded. "I'll ask Tina to have a look at it when she gets back from patrol. In here." He held open another door and she saw they were in a cafeteria.

Mike went behind the counter and she could hear him rustling about. She sank down gratefully into a chair and allowed herself to relax a tiny bit for the first time in the three days. After a few moments he reappeared with a bottle of water and an opened tin of tuna.

"It's not much but it's what we've got."

"Oh, God, you have no idea." Marley's mouth had filled with saliva just looking at it. She practically ripped the items from his hands and had a brief panic over which to attack first. In the end she went for the food and Mike took the opportunity to open the bottle for her, chuckling as he did so.

"When was the last time you ate?"

Marley shook her head. "I don't really know. Right before I left Columbus but I can't really remember when…"

"Wait, you came from Columbus?" Marley nodded. "How did you get here?"

"I walked." She said around mouthfuls of food.

Mike just looked at her for a few moments. "Why?"

Marley shrugged. "I had to leave. I left."

"And you came here?"

She shrugged again. "I didn't really know where I was headed."

Mike chuckled. "Well, welcome to hell."

Marley set the now empty tin down on the table and looked at him. "What's the deal with this place, anyway? I got jumped by a group of guys as soon as I crossed city limits." She grabbed the bottle of water and took a sip. "Not unusual. It was my own fault, I was exhausted and not paying enough attention. But those girls, the ones in the red and white jackets? Why is everyone so afraid of them?"

Mike sat back and crossed his arms. "They're the Cheerios. The gang that runs this town. Don't be fooled by the name, there's nothing cheery about them. They are a bunch of sadistic freaks and they are run by the three most ruthless, crazy, cold hearted bitches that hopefully you won't have the misfortune to meet." Mike sighed and ran his hands through his hair. "Their leader is Quinn Fabray. She is the most vindictive, conniving, heartless person you will ever come across outside of your nightmares, maybe even with them. Her second in command is Santana Lopez. She has a wicked tongue, a short fuse and a brutal right hook. She would beat you to a bloody pulp for looking at her wrong and her only concern would be breaking a nail. Santana's girlfriend is Brittany Pierce. That girl is just plain crazy. They call the three of them the Unholy Trinity."

Marley sat back and thought about this. "But every town is ruled by a gang of some sort, usually a few vying for position. Here, though, it seems different. When Puck pulled me out of there he said I was going to get us all killed."

Mike chuckled without mirth. "I take it you are not aware that Sue Sylvester is from Lima?"


	2. Chapter 2

Rachel sat between the two girls, arms crossed and head held high. She refused to let them see fear. Almost everything that could have been taken from her had been, there was very little they could do to her now besides torture her. She had been through that before, she could do it again.

She didn't want to, of course.

The drive back to the Cheerios HQ was not a long one but it seemed they were taking their time. Rachel presumed it was to heighten the anticipation but you never could tell with these girls. Perhaps they just wanted to 'shop'. She had long since given up trying to figure them out. It had been nearly six years since the world had gone to hell and in that time the Cheerios had gone from ruining her high school life to controlling the town. Under Quinn Fabray's sadistic iron thumb there seemed to be no lengths they wouldn't go to to have this town living in abject terror.

Quinn and the Cheerios rise to power had been astronomical, thanks in part to the protection and influence afforded to them as Sue Sylvester's protoges. When they had taken over the town and kept their moniker Rachel had followed suit, calling her band of opposing rebels New Directions. Perhaps not the smartest of moves as it immediately drew attention to the fact that she was the leader (and Finn, of course) but Rachel Berry was not one to bow down to brutality.

Although when they killed her fathers…

Not that they admitted to it, of course. It was a car wreck. A tragic accident. Quinn had even sent flowers. It was meant to break her. It almost did. But in the end it only made her stronger, more committed. She would break the Cheerios stranglehold on this town if it was the last thing she did.

At last the car pulled to a stop. Thankfully Kitty had stopped her baiting of Rachel quite early on in the journey. She tended to get bored when she didn't get a response and, since her entire personality suggested she could be the love child of Quinn and Santana were such a thing possible (and Rachel didn't put it past Sue Sylvester), Rachel knew very well how to handle her.

The Cheerios HQ was in an old mansion overlooking Schoonover Park. Rachel remembered it well from the old days. She and Noah had used to go to the park after Temple and wonder about who lived there. When they were tiny, of course. Once Noah hit puberty he didn't look at her, much less talk to her again until he was forced to join Glee club.

Now, though, there was no doubt in anyone's mind who lived there. No one came near the place unless they were affiliated with the Cheerios, or had a death wish. The rest of the block was empty, neighbours having been forced out very early on. Members of the gang occupied the surrounding houses, proximity depending on hierarchy. The setup basically meant you could wander into the neighbourhood by whatever means, but you only left if you were allowed.

And now Rachel was being marched through the front door of the dragon's den.

"Oh, Berry, you have no idea how sweet you taste to me tonight." Kitty purred at her. "I'm gonna get me some milk when I present you."

Kitty pushed a set of double doors open and marched her prize through.

"Have I got a gift for you tonight, boss. Where's momma?"

Rachel took in the scene. They were in a high ceilinged drawing room. There, seated behind an unnecessarily large desk, was Santana Lopez. Rachel felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up as Santana leaned back in her chair and viewed the scene before her.

Santana was beautiful, there was no denying it. The scar that had been added to her face, about an inch long near her left eyebrow, only served to accentuate that beauty. It was as if the flaw heightened the perfection. Rachel shook her head slightly to regain her composure.

"Q is otherwise occupied this evening, Kitty. She'll be pissed to have missed this though, I am sure." Santana lifted herself out of her chair and walked slowly round the desk. "Hi Treasure Trail. Long time, no see." She perched on the front of the desk and looked at Rachel, a dangerous glint in her eye.

Rachel said nothing.

"Okay, so you want us to take her out back? Wait til she gets here?" Kitty asked, looking disappointed.

"No." Santana said slowly, a devious smirk on her face. "Leave her. I'll take care of this myself."

"Whatever you say, boss." Kitty chuckled and shot a sideways glance at Rachel. "Good luck, Berry."

As the doors closed behind Kitty Rachel kept her eyes locked on Santana's.

"So, Manhands, how'd you get caught this time?" Santana smirked, pushing herself off the desk and strolling towards her. "Lemme guess, you are and your band of trusty do-gooders came across an elderly lady who had stumbled in the street and couldn't help but serenade her with a heart warming rendition of Everybody Hurts?"

"Santana…" Rachel started. She was silenced by a barely perceptible shake of the head.

"Or maybe it was because you were rescuing some junkie with an uplifting chorus of Lean On Me?"

Rachel bristled. "Well at least I still have enough humanity that both these scenarios are likely options, Santana."

She took a small step back, her hand dramatically over her heart. "Ouch."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt your heart." Rachel shook her head sadly. "I assumed Quinn had it locked up somewhere, along with your spine."

Santana paused for a second before stepping up to Rachel and chuckling. "Okay, Berry. That was pretty good. As your reward I'm going to tell you a secret. This is going to hurt."

The back of Santana's hand shot up and Rachel whipped her head back, grimacing.

As she straightened up Santana's face was right in hers. "Now I think it's time for you to come with me."

"Don't you want to call some of your minions to escort me?" Rachel asked, licking her bottom lip.

"Oh," Santana smiled sweetly. "I don't think we'll be needing them for what I have in mind."

She shoved Rachel in the direction of a large oak door on the far side of the room. When they reached it she put a hand to the back of her head, turning it slightly and shoving her into the door.

"Oops," She grinned, pushing herself up against her. "Suppose I should have opened it before using you as buffer, huh, dwarf?" Santana reached around her and turned the handle, shoving Rachel unceremoniously through the door as it swung open.

Once clear she slammed the door shut, grabbed Rachel and pushed her up against the wall of the corridor, grabbing Rachel's face and turning it from side to side.

"What the hell, Rachel? Are you okay? Did I get you?"

"I'm okay," Rachel wiped the blood from her lip. "It's okay, I got your warning I was just too slow. When did they put cameras in there?"

"About a month ago." Santana replied. "Q is crazy paranoid just now. I don't know how much time we have." She ran her thumb across Rachel's cheekbone and kissed her deeply. Rachel sank into the kiss, her hands in Santana's hair, relishing the girl's body pressed up against her.

After a few moments Santana pulled away and pressed her forehead against Rachel's. "For fuck's sake, Rach, how'd you get caught? I risked my ass to get you those plans. Why aren't you using them?"

"I am!" Rachel kissed her again. "It's just...tonight I couldn't."

"Why not?"

"Because we found someone. And I didn't want to risk showing her that we had inside information. It's just…" Rachel sighed and wrapped her arms round Santana. "I don't trust anyone anymore, baby. And I didn't want anything leading back to you. I know how precarious your position is."

Santana chuckled and pulled her back into a kiss, pushing up against her again. "That's probably wise. With all of Sue's spies I am surprised I haven't already been caught."

"Don't joke about that, Santana!" Rachel cried, pushing her away. "Do you know how hard it is for me to imagine you here every single day? Knowing there's not a damn thing I can do to protect you?"

"Hey, come on, Rach." Santana smiled softly, pulling her back in. "You know I can look after myself."

"But it's getting worse, Santana. Every day it gets worse." Rachel pouted.

"I'm doing what I can." Santana lifted Rachel's chin so she would meet her eyes. "It would be a whole lot worse if I wasn't here."

"But your life would be a whole lot better."

Santana shrugged. "People always thought I was a bitch so I played the part. What's changed?"

"You have me."

Santana dropped her forehead against hers again and gazed into her eyes. "All the more reason for me to try and control things from inside. God, I missed you."

"I missed you too, so much." Rachel kissed her, lost in the pleasure of being able to hold the woman she loved, even if just for a moment. "I hate not knowing when I'm going to see you again. And I can't bear seeing you with her."

"Don't, Rach." Santana groaned. "You know the Brittany thing is...I know you hate it. I hate it, but it's necessary. There's nothing I can do about it right now. You know that."

Rachel said nothing. She didn't trust herself to speak. She didn't understand why it was so important to Quinn that Santana and Brittany act as a couple in public, even though Santana had tried to explain it to her. Something about continuity and united fronts, how nothing could destroy the Cheerios bonds, blood in, blood out, blah blah blah. Really, she tried not to dwell on it, and Santana had assured her that behind closed doors she and Brittany barely spoke any more. And Rachel wanted to believe her. She really did.

"Baby, please?" Santana took her face in her hands and stared deep into her eyes. Rachel never could resist when she looked at her like that, deep brown eyes so open and unguarded in these moments. "You know how much I love you. It kills me every time she touches me. I would give anything for things to be different, that it could just be you and me, away from all of this. Please trust me?"

"I do. Of course I do. I just…" Rachel sighed and shook her head sadly.

"I know." Santana said simply. She pressed her lips gently to Rachel's and stroked her thumb along her cheekbone again. Rachel felt some of her tension melt away at the gesture and the kiss deepened. She wrapped her arms around Santana's back and pulled her against her once more. Santana's hands moved up through her hair and tugged gently, eliciting a small moan from Rachel. She pushed her back against the wall, the intensity of their kiss deepening. She brought her hand round and hooked her fingers into the front of Santana's pants.

"Oh, fuck, Rach." Santana broke their kiss, breathing heavily. "Stop, we can't." Rachel groaned and dropped her head against the wall over Santana's shoulder. "You have no idea how much I want to, but I can't risk…"

"I know, I know." Rachel pushed away from the wall angrily and began pacing up and down the corridor, trying to ignore the heat between her legs. After a few seconds she felt Santana's arms wrap around her from behind and her lips on her neck.

"I'm sorry, but if they find you here...look, I'll try and get to our place soon, okay?" Santana whispered in her ear, holding her tightly. "I want you so badly. But now I need to get you safely out of here, alright?"

Rachel nodded gently, willing herself to hold it together. She knew she was being unfair, she was just so frustrated.

Santana took her hand and led her away.

* * *

From her vantage park on the other side of the park she looked up at the mansion. The thought of leaving Santana there was destroying her. How had their lives come to this? If she could go back in time to the start of senior year and kill Sue Sylvester she honestly believed she would. Or at the very least do something to derail her campaign and stop her meteoric rise before it began. But at the time the idea that one person could do so much damage in such a short space of time was unthinkable. At least in this day and age.

But that was then, this was now. This was the reality Rachel was living in. This was the reality she had to fix. There was absolutely no point in daydreaming about the past. She had to come up with something, and soon. Every day the town was becoming more and more lawless, and every day Santana spent living her double life was one day closer to her discovery. And every day Quinn seemed to become more and more vicious and unhinged, at this point Rachel really didn't want to think what she would do if she found out.

Rachel really needed to get moving. She wouldn't have the cover of darkness for much longer and she was miles from the school. With one last look at the mansion she turned and headed away. She had to do something, she just didn't know what. Somewhere in the back of her mind she had a nagging feeling that things were about to change.

She just wasn't sure if they would change for the better.


	3. Chapter 3

Marley woke up with a start, sensing someone enter the room. She jumped out of the bed and into the corner, her sleep addled state fuelling her panic.

"It's okay." A female voice said. "I'm just here to check your shoulder. I'm going to turn the light on, alright?"

"Okay." She replied hesitantly, blinking and trying to shield her eyes from the harshness of the fluorescent light that suddenly flooded the room.

"I'm Tina." The girl said, approaching her. "Marley, right?" She nodded. "Just take a seat and let me see your back."

Marley did as she was told, wincing in pain as the blood stained bandage was peeled away.

"I'm going to need to take your shirt off as well, alright?" Tina waited for Marley's acknowledgement before peeling the offending garment off and over her head. "Damn, girl, we need to get you some decent food and clothes. How long you been running?"

"Running?" She asked, wincing again as Tina inspected her wound.

"Yeah, Mike said you came in from Columbus and, since I could probably count your ribs from fifty feet away, I'd guess that wasn't your starting point?"

"I…" Marley thought about how to answer. "It's been difficult. To get food."

"It's alright. You can tell me when you're ready." Tina stood up and pulled off her sweater, passing it to Marley. "Here, put this on til we can get you some clean clothes. I need to take you up to the nurse's office so I can get you patched up."

* * *

Thirty minutes later Marley's wound was cleaned and dressed. She was waiting in the nurse's office for Tina to return with some clothes for her when she heard a commotion in the corridor outside. She jumped to her feet and stuck her head out the door to see what was going on. She saw Tina marching back down the corridor being followed by the tall guy, Finn, she thought his name was, who was practically dragging the short brunette by the arm.

She moved back into the room as Tina walked in and handed her the clothes wordlessly before moving over to the cabinet and pulling out various supplies. Finn picked up the short girl as if she were a child and sat her on the bed.

"For God's sake, Finn, stop manhandling me! I am perfectly capable of sitting on a bed." She said, clearly irritated. "I don't even need to be here, it's just some minor cuts and bruises."

"I don't know, Rachel." Tina said, moving over to her with some antiseptic and a cloth. "This one by your eye looks pretty bad.

"It's nothing compared to...ow!" Rachel cried out in pain as Tina rinsed out the cut.

"That's it, I have fucking had it!" Finn shouted and kicked at the chair. "I'm going to fucking kill that bitch!"

"Finn, please stop attacking the furniture and calm down."

"No, I will not calm down! Why the fuck should I calm down? Santana fucking Lopez is a vicious fucking bitch and she needs to be stopped!" He punched the wall and roared in pain.

"Great, now I have to fix you up too?" Tina whined. "Can you guys please stop getting yourselves hurt? I have been out patrolling all night, I'm pretty beat."

Finn sat down sheepishly next to Rachel. "Sorry Tina. It's just...I mean look at her?"

Rachel did look pretty bad, Marley thought from her seemingly forgotten vantage point on the other bed. She had a deep cut just under her left eyebrow and the eye was swollen shut. Her bottom lip was split on the right hand side and her nose was bleeding. She was also cradling her right wrist, but almost looked as though she was trying to hide the fact.

"I've had worse before, Finn." Rachel muttered. "Remember that time at Thanksgiving?"

Finn's face started to get red, like really red, but he didn't say anything.

"I'm really sorry, Rachel." Marley offered quietly, causing Rachel to notice her for apparently the first time.

"Oh, hey!" Rachel smiled, attempting to wave and then wincing as her wrist was obviously more painful than she was letting on.

"Jeez, Rachel, is there anywhere she didn't beat on you?"

* * *

When Marley woke up again it took her a little while to remember where she was. She felt a little better for having slept but a whole lot worse as well. It was the first time she had slept soundly since they took her mom and she can't help but feel guilty about it. She shook her head to clear the unhelpful thoughts and dragged herself out of bed, blindly reaching for her clothes in the dark.

The group had set up makeshift sleeping quarters in the basement and there was no natural light down here so she had no idea what time it was. Rachel had asked that she come and find her when she woke up so she made her way out of the room and back upstairs.

As she tried to find her way back to the room she was taken to on the first night she couldn't help but overhear a heated conversation.

"Will you keep your voice down, Noah!"

"I will when you start making sense. You can't possibly be serious about this, Rachel?"

"Well we have to do something! We can't just leave her there. Every day she's in there is another day she could get caught."

"And every day she's in there is another day that we have access to their plans."

"So, what, you're saying we just sacrifice her?"

"She's a big girl, she knew what she was getting herself into. And she can leave anytime she wants."

"Yes, but she won't!"

"And why is that, huh, Rach? You ever stop to ask yourself that?"

Marley heard someone come round the corner behind her and jumped away from the doorway guiltily.

"Hey." She vaguely recognised the floppy haired guy who had let her and Puck in as he greeted her.

"Uh, hi." She replied, smiling shyly.

"You lost?"

"I, uh, I'm supposed to go find Rachel but I…"

"Ah, she'll probably be in the choir room. That's kind of her office." He nodded further down the corridor. "Come on I'll show you. I'm Ryder, by the way."

"Marley." She shook his hand and followed him.

"Yeah, I know." He smiled at her questioning look. "It's not often we get newbies. You're kind of big news."

"Oh, I'm not…"

He paused in the corridor. "Not what? Not staying? Eager to get back out in that mess alone are you?"

"No, of course not. It's just...I'm kind of...well I'm looking for something." She dropped her gaze to the floor. Why had she told him that? "It's kind of a long story."

"Yeah? Well then I guess you'll have to stick around for a while so you can tell me." He smiled at her kindly then gestured to the door behind her. "Choir room. If she's not in there she will be soon. Briefing starts in thirty minutes. I'll see you then."

Marley watched him as he continued down the corridor and couldn't help but smile as he looked back over his shoulder at her. As she turned to enter the room she saw Puck and Rachel leave the room she had been listening outside of and felt a guilty blush colour her cheeks.

"Marley, hey." Rachel smiled at her as she approached, one eye shining brightly, the other swollen shut. "Sleep well?"

"God, yes." Marley smiled back as she followed the shorter girl into the room. "You?"

"Oh, er, not yet. I will do later." Rachel sat down and patted the seat next to her. "So, how did you end up in that store?"

Marley sighed deeply. She was really hoping she could have avoided opening up this early. She needed time to organise her thoughts. She sat down and weighed up her options.

"I was hungry and tired." She shrugged. "I got sloppy. I'm sorry that I got you…" She raised her eyes and indicated Rachel's battered face.

"Let's get one thing straight, shall we? This," Rachel waved her hand in front of her face. "This happened because this town is under the control of an awful group of people who have been making my life a personal hell for longer than I care to remember. I let myself be taken instead of you because I don't want any other innocent people to be caught up in their reign of terror. However, I was also placing a lot of faith in you being an innocent person."

Marley's head shot up. She studied Rachel, trying to work out her meaning.

"We put together this group to fight back against them. That puts us at great risk. Bringing you here was a great risk. I trusted you were one of the good ones and that's why I told Puck to get you out of there. In order for that trust to remain I am going to need you to start giving a little back. Otherwise I will have to ask you to leave. I have to protect my family."

Marley took another deep breath and tried to summon her courage. How much could she allow herself to say?

"I…" She started. Her eyes were starting to fill with tears and she willed herself to be strong. "They took my mom." She said quietly.

"Who?" Rachel asked after a moment.

"I don't know!" Marley cried. "They came to our house in the middle of the night. Four guys and a white van. I managed...well, I got away. They put her in the van and took her." She was crying openly now, rubbing at her middle finger uncomfortably.

"Do you know where they took her?"

Marley shook her head.

"Did you try to find out?"

"No." She cried. "Rachel, you have to understand, people get taken all the time in Columbus. My mom and I always looked out for each other but we knew it could happen. She was always trying to make me promise that if it ever happened to her I would just run." She chuckled angrily. "I always swore I wouldn't. That I'd find a way to get her back."

"So what happened?"

Marley shook her head sadly. After a moment she looked up at Rachel. "No one ever came back, you know?"

Rachel looked back at her thoughtfully and then nodded. Marley heard footsteps in the corridor and Rachel stood up.

"Okay, you can stay with us." Rachel said. A nostalgic look came over her face. "You know, I was supposed to be the toast of Broadway by now? I spent years preparing myself. I'm sure the rest of the group will attest to my prodigious acting capabilities. Yours could use work. Hopefully soon you'll begin to trust me enough to tell me what you're hiding."

She walked to the front of the room as a group of tired looking people began to file in.

Finn was the last in and he took his place at the front, his hand still bandaged.

"Hi guys." Rachel smiled at them once they were all seated. "Glad to see you all back. Noah, could you give the assignments, please?"

Puck jumped up. "Alright, Mercedes, Mike, Zone A patrol. Kurt, Finn, Zone B. Ryder, Jake, Zone C." Ryder and the guy sitting next to him groaned and shook their heads. "Look, guys I know it sucks out there but that's why we take it in rotation, right? Watch each other's backs and stay safe." The guys nodded and Jake slapped Ryder's shoulder.

"Alright, Tina, front door. I'll take the perimeter. Blaine, bed down. It's all you tomorrow and we need you sharp." A guy to Marley's right with the craziest curly hair she had ever seen nodded his head. He looked exhausted. "Rachel, I would tell you the same but we all know you will just ignore me so, I don't know, go practice Wicked, or something."

"Thank you, Noah." Rachel nodded. Puck took his seat.

"Alright," Finn stepped forward. "Reports from last night. Blaine, Tina, Zone A?"

"Ah, just before we get into that," Rachel cut him off and gestured to Marley. "For those of you who haven't been introduced this is Marley. She will be staying with us for..well, for now." The group offered her a few waves.

"Um, Tina, maybe you could take Marley to get some food before you relieve Mercedes on front door duty?"

"Sure." Tina smiled and jumped up. "Come on Marley, I'll show you where we keep the good stuff."

Marley smiled back and followed her out, glancing back at Rachel as she went. The brunette didn't trust her, that much was obvious. She just didn't how much she would have to tell her before she did.


	4. Chapter 4

Rachel was almost to the fence when she felt him approach her.

"Hi, Noah." She sighed, turning to face him.

"Berry." He nodded. "Sneaking out?"

"Not sneaking. Going."

"Will you let me go and wake Blaine so I can at least give you some back up?"

"You know that's not necessary. I can take care of myself." He raised an eyebrow and nodded to her face. "You know this is intentional."

"Yeah, I know. You had to go get beaten up so people wouldn't think your girlfriend just let you go."

"Ssh!" Rachel's eyes darted about, looking for signs of anyone who might have overheard. "For God's sake, Noah!"

"Come on, Rach, there's no one here. I've been on perimeter watch the last two hours, not a peep."

"It's that kind of complacency that could get her killed, Puckerman! No one else can know!"

"Alright. I'm sorry." He held his hands up. "So where'd you go this time?"

"My route back took me through Zone C." She shrugged. "It wasn't difficult."

"Jesus, Berry." He shook his head. "It would be easier if you'd just get her to do it."

Rachel shot him a look that could have killed him twice and turned back to the fence.

"I wish you'd let me come with you." He called after her.

"You know I'm not going far." She called back as she crawled through the fence. "Besides, she probably won't even be there. I'll be back in no time."

* * *

The familiar wave of sadness washed over her as she approached the house. She remembered it as so happy, so full of life. Now it was just a shell, a stopping point for vagrants and smack heads. She pushed the door against the pile of rubbish that had accumulated behind it and felt an urge to start clearing up.

She looked around her old living room sadly. The dilapidated old piano in the corner, the soiled couch flipped on its back, the once pristine breakfast bar now daubed with obscene graffiti, the light fittings above it wrenched from their sockets. She walked up the stairs and into her old room. It didn't look like anyone had been in here recently, certainly the smell of it hadn't gotten any worse since last time. She walked over to the window and pushed it open anyway, surprised as usual that it was still intact.

She crossed over to her closet, pulled the little stool into the centre and reached up for the clasp hidden in the corner. The false ceiling dropped down and she reached up for the box, grabbing the sheets she had stashed there at the same time.

Carefully clearing the debris off the bed she put one of the sheets on the mattress and sat down, opening the box and pulling out two candles. She lit them and set them on her old desk, the reached back into the box for the photo album. She paused for a second with her hands resting on the cover, regret washing over her in waves. She missed them so much.

Rachel opened the album and smiled through her tears at the images smiling back at her. She ran her fingers over their faces and heard their voices in her mind.

"I miss you so much." She whispered, allowing herself just a moment to let the tears roll down her face. Here, in her childhood bedroom, she could allow herself to break down. Out of sight of the people who were depending on her to be strong she could let the grief have it's way with her. She knew that every time she left this room she left a little piece of it behind, and a little piece of herself.

She felt a strong hand softly rub her back and the bed behind her sink slightly. She bit back a sob and turned around, her lips rushing towards the other girl's. After a brief kiss Santana pushed her back gently and lifted her hand, stopping shy of actually touching her.

"Your face?" Santana said, her voice tinged with anger and sadness. Rachel shook her head gently.

"Cover." She sobbed, throwing her arms around Santana's neck and collapsing into her embrace.

Santana held her tightly, kissing her head and stroking her gently while the sobs wracked her body. As her grief began to subside and her breathing settled her kisses moved lower, landing on Rachel's eyes, her nose, her cheek and finally her mouth. Rachel's hands moved into Santana's hair and pulled her into a deeper kiss, moving them both backwards until she was flat on the bed, Santana above her.

All the pain and regret began to fall away until all she could feel was the fire running through her as Santana's body pressed into hers, their mouths moving against each other in perfect harmony. Rachel ran one of her hands down the back of Santana's pants and raked the fingers of her other up her side slowly. When she reached her bra she dragged her thumb across her perfect breast, eliciting a heady moan as she circled a raised nipple.

Santana's hand slid under her t shirt and ran softly over her tense stomach, then one finger scratched back down, agonisingly slowly until it reached the top of her pants, which were undone and removed with miraculous speed and the hand was suddenly between her legs, pressing against her with an urgency that matched her own. Rachel cried out as her hips bucked of their own volition and she pushed at Santana's shoulders, rolling her over so Rachel was straddling her. Her eyes widened in surprise but she recovered quickly, slipping her hand under Rachel's underwear, causing Rachel to let out a guttural moan and tip her head back. Santana's fingers moved backwards and forwards, either side of where she needed them to be, teasingly slow, agonisingly close. Rachel's breath was ragged. If Santana didn't get to the point soon she felt sure she would die. She dropped her head back down and kissed her forcefully, moving her hips to try and force the issue, but Santana wasn't playing.

"Fuck, baby, please." She hissed.

Santana's eyes turned almost completely black, in that terrifying but unbelievably sexy way they did when she was massively turned on. "Well, since you asked so nicely…" She husked, her breath catching. That in itself was almost enough for Rachel. She moved her finger over Rachel's clit sending a shockwave through her body that had her crying out and clenching her thighs around Santana's hips. Her face contorted with desire, she dropped her lips back down to Santana's, hungrily seeking out her tongue. She felt herself getting close embarrassingly quickly and moaned into Santana's mouth, definitely giving the game away. Suddenly Santana's hand dropped away and two fingers were thrust roughly inside her.

"Oh, fuck!" She cried out, turning her face away, her arms trembling as she tried to hold herself up. She felt lips on her neck, a hand in her hair, and fire building in her belly. Her hips ground down against Santana's hand, her breath ragged against her ear. She felt Santana's fingers curl up inside her, hitting the perfect spot as usual. The power of the feeling forced her arms to push her up and Santana followed, her lips hungry for Rachel. She wrapped her arms round her neck, holding her tightly to her chest, her hips pounding out their own demented rhythm as she got closer and closer to breaking point.

Nothing mattered in this moment. There was no pain, no regret, no memory of the hellish world they were currently inhabiting, no future, no past, only Santana and the sensation she was creating in Rachel with the perfect curve of her fingers inside her.

Santana kissed her way up Rachel's neck and nipped gently at her earlobe.

"Te amo con todo mi corazón." She whispered.

Rachel's eyes rolled back and she broke apart, the feeling too intense for any sound to escape. Her whole body tensed and trembled against Santana for what felt like hours. She couldn't breathe. As the reeling receded slightly she melted into a long, loud moan as a second orgasm immediately shot through her and her hips forced down sharply. "Oh….God…" She whispered as she slowly came back down to earth.

Santana rolled and dropped her back onto the bed, kissing her face and neck and slowly stroking her stomach, an action which Rachel had always loved and Santana had always seemed to instinctively know.

Trembling, Rachel kissed the top of her head. "Oh God, I missed you so much."

Santana hummed against her neck sending another shiver through her body.

* * *

"Santana?" Rachel said, idly running her fingers up and down the girl's naked back.

"Hmm?" Came the drowsy response.

"Why is Quinn so paranoid?" She felt Santana's body tense as she slowly lifted her head from Rachel's chest.

"Well, way to ruin my post orgasmic haze, Rach, thanks." She muttered.

"I'm sorry, baby." She dropped a kiss on the top of Santana's head and stroked her hair until she laid back down. Their legs were entwined and Santana's arm was locked around her waist. The feeling of being pressed up against her naked girlfriend was too delicious to ruin but she really needed to know. "It's just...is there a reason?"

"Are you talking about in general or recently?" Santana muttered, irritation lacing her voice.

"Recently."

Santana sighed and started idly tracing patterns on Rachel's stomach. "I really don't know, Rach. She doesn't really give a lot away these days."

"But doesn't that worry you? I mean you're like her...second in command, or whatever. Shouldn't you be privy to her worries?"

Santana sighed again, more deeply this time, and sat up. "You don't know Q, Rachel. She talks when she wants to talk, about what she wants to talk about. If she doesn't want you to know something, you don't know it." She made to leave the bed and Rachel grabbed her.

"Please don't go. I'm sorry, please stay."

"I can't, Rach. I have to get back." Santana walked slowly across the room and leant down to pick up her discarded clothes. Rachel felt the heat start up in her belly again at the sight, along with the weight descending on her heart with the realisation that it could be weeks until they saw each other again.

Rachel knelt up on the bed and reached out her hands. "I'm sorry."

Santana looked at her with a mixture of sadness and annoyance as she fastened her bra, then slowly walked over and allowed herself to be pulled into an embrace. Rachel kissed her softly and held her close. "I'm so sorry, I just worry for you."

"I told you, Rachel, I can take care of myself."

"I know you can, I just…" Rachel held on as Santana tried to pull away. "Please, can't you understand how scared I am for you? What if she's paranoid because she suspects? She'll start watching everything more closely. Start watching you more closely?"

"Don't you think I know that?" Santana spat, pushing her away and snatching up the rest of her clothes.

"Then you need to be more careful, Santana!"

"Why do you think I haven't seen you in a month?" She yelled, waving her hands, clearly exasperated.

"Then why are you here now?" Rachel replied, slightly more angrily than she had intended.

"Because you needed me to be!"

Rachel stopped, shocked, her brain working overtime as she watched the woman she loved pulling on her clothes. She felt slightly sick as she realised what she had done.

"Santana…" She said softly.

"Don't." Santana rounded on her. "Don't you dare feel guilty about this." She closed the distance between them and took her hands. "I should be able to spend time with you. I need to spend time with you." She took Rachel's face in her hands and kissed her. "Please, mi amor, don't panic. I was careful. I always am." She kissed her again and wrapped her arms around her. Rachel grabbed her tight, suddenly terrified. A tear slipped down her face and she held on, wishing that she could never let her go. "Ssh, ssh, escúchame, it's okay. It's okay."

"It's not okay, Santana." She whispered. "None of this is okay."

* * *

Rachel leaned against the piano, back in the safety of the choir room but she couldn't rid herself of the dread that was creeping around her heart.

"Rachel?"

She whipped her head up, grateful for and annoyed by the interruption at the same time.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" Marley was fiddling with the hem of her sweater nervously. "I...I need to tell you the truth."

Rachel folded her arms and nodded tightly.

"I wasn't lying. They took my mom. But I know a bit more about it than I said." She shifted her eyes to Rachel's. "I know who took her. And I know more about Lima than I let on." The girl breathed deeply and spoke quickly. "It was Sue Sylvester's people. They've been grabbing people for months. I had been doing some research and I knew that she came from here and that Quinn Fabray was her protege, her favourite. That's why I came here, after they took her."

Rachel took a second to process all of this. "You came here for Quinn?"

"I came here to kill her."


	5. Chapter 5

Santana pulled up outside the mansion and nodded at the girl on gate duty. As the gate slowly opened she sped through the tiny gap and parked the bike up in front of the house. She kicked the stand down and jumped off, switching off the engine and pocketing the keys. As she walked up the front steps she pulled off her helmet and unzipped her red leather jacket.

"Any news?" She asked the girl at the front door.

"Q's back." Came the response. "She wants to see you."

Santana nodded and made her way inside, heading straight for Quinn's office at the back of the house.

As usual when Quinn was about the hallway was littered with girls hoping to catch her attention and be favoured with some special task to prove their worth. It was useful, as it meant Santana didn't really have to get her hands dirty anymore, but extremely annoying. These girls would do anything to get close to Quinn, including pressing themselves up against Santana, whispering filthy things in her ear, as if sleeping their way to Quinn through her was a viable option.

Sure, it had been fun at the start. Hell, it had been a lot of fun at the start. She had felt like a kid in a candy store, not that she showed it. Now, it just made her feel annoyed and sad. It also drew attention to the fact that she had changed, and that wasn't good. When questioned she had told Quinn that she'd fucked all the good ones and was bored, and that had kept her off her back for a while but she still had to take one every couple of weeks to keep up appearances. She was Santana Lopez after all. Cold hearted bitch with a razor sharp tongue who liked to fuck and fight.

So when they pressed up against her she played along. When they whispered in her ear she smirked back at them, running her lust filled eyes over them appreciatively. And when she picked one she fucked them hard and fast against whatever surface was close to hand, never letting them touch her or kiss her. She knew that wouldn't mean much to Rachel but it meant something to her.

Eventually she made it through to Quinn's office. She knocked and waited for the door to be opened.

"Hey, boss." Kitty smirked at her. "Good hunting?"

"Is there another kind?" She shot back at her as she pushed past.

Quinn was positioned behind her desk, pink and purple hair falling over her face, fully focused on whatever papers were in front of her. Santana moved herself in front of the desk and just stood there waiting.

After a few moments she glanced up at Santana. As usual Santana could not read the expression. She had long since given up trying.

"Hey, S." She smiled. "How was your night?"

"Wanky." She smirked. "How was your trip?"

Quinn pushed out her chin and nodded. "Yeah, pretty good, actually. Quite informative." She waved her hand in the direction of the chair. "Sit."

Santana looked over at the chair and then moved in the opposite direction. She may be Quinn's bitch but she didn't have to show it. All the time. Especially not when she was nervous.

"Drink?"

"Sure." Quinn replied, her eyes never leaving Santana.

She walked over to the fridge and grabbed a couple of beers. She twisted the lids off both and crossed back over to the desk to hand one to Quinn before taking her seat.

"So," Santana said after taking a pull on her beer. "What's up?"

Quinn regarded her coolly for a moment before replying. "Sue says we have a problem."

Santana's hand stopped, bottle midway to her mouth. "What kind of problem?

"A problem of the mole variety."

"Jesus, Q, don't freak me out!" Santana chuckled. "We have stuff in place for that. And everyone in town knows how we deal with people who talk. Who would risk that?"

Quinn leaned back in her chair and crossed her hands in front of her. Santana took a drink and waited her out. She knew that look. It was the kind of look she used to get back in high school when she and Brittany would disappear and show up late to practice. Back then it had been a little scary but kind of amusing. These days it was...well, she didn't want use the word terrifying but…

"Where did you go tonight?"

"Just a hook up." Santana shrugged. "Same as always."

"Same as always?" Quinn raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah?" Santana didn't really know where this was going but she didn't like it.

"Same girl?"

Oh, okay. "Fuck no." She snorted. "Where's the fun in that?"

Quinn smiled at her but there was something…

"What's up, Q?"

The girl regarded her for a second then leaned back on the desk and picked up her beer. "I'm not sure yet. I think we need to be a little careful just now so let's keep it in house for a while, okay?"

Santana's heart sank a little but she didn't show it. "No problem. We got a couple of hot newbies I've been saving up."

Quinn smiled again and leaned back. "So I hear we had a guest the other day? Sad I missed her. How is she?"

"Annoying as ever." She shrugged. "Fun to play with, though. Girls got a set of pipes on her." Did she ever.

Quinn nodded. "She always was your favourite one to torture."

"Yours too, as I recall. Next time she's all yours."

"Hmm." Quinn gave her that look again. Seriously, she was starting to get a bit freaked out. "Let's go out tomorrow? It's been too long and I'm in the mood to…" Quinn looked off, as if searching for the perfect words. "Raise a little hell."

Santana nodded. "I'll set it up. And, not that I want to pander to Sue's paranoia, but I'll start some checks, alright?"

"Thanks." Quinn smiled and stood up. "Alright. Well, it's been a long day. I'm going to turn in. I'll see you tomorrow, Santana." She moved out from behind the desk and headed over to the door at the side of the room. "Speak to Kitty if you are still, ah, hungry. Sue sent a few gifts for you." She shot Santana a smirk and headed out.

* * *

Santana sat on her window ledge and stared out across the park, the window propped open to let her cigarette smoke out. Something was going on, she could feel it. She just didn't know what yet. Did Sue know something or was she just becoming increasingly paranoid? Either way, it was definitely a bad thing. Quinn had always been extra weird when she returned from her visits, but last time the cameras had gone up, this time Santana was being questioned and ordered to keep her hook ups Cheerio only? Santana disliked being watched and she disliked being told what to do. And by disliked she meant fucking hated it with every fibre of her being. This was not okay. She was Quinn's second. If Q was doubting her they were most definitely looking at the start of an epically back time.

She wondered if Britt had had a similar talk? The only way to find out would be to ask her and she really didn't want to do that. Britt was a completely different person these days. Gone was the sweet girl that Santana would have laid down her life to protect, and in her place was a sadistic bitch with a fondness for sharp objects and bruised flesh. Gone were the shy glances and sweet ladykisses, instead there was unbridled aggression and a desire to cause her sexual partners pain. She had stayed with Britt far too long, desperate to believe that she could stop her from becoming this person, but after one night when Britt had tied her up, used some sort of metal attachment on her and choked her so hard she had passed out and not been able to speak for a week she had had to let go. And judging by the screams she heard coming from B's quarters these days and the state of some girls she had seen leaving, Britt was gone.

There was a knock at the door and Santana took a moment to compose herself before barking an acknowledgement.

"Hey," Cara smiled over at her peeking round the door. "I heard you had a catch up with Q? I know you like to catch up with Jim pretty quickly afterwards so I thought I would bring him through." She held up the bottle of Jim Beam and raised her eyebrows.

"Oh, God. I actually love you at this moment." Santana sighed and waved her in. "Grab a couple of glasses and get your ass over here."

Cara was Santana's sort of unofficial assistant and she was the only person Santana even remotely trusted. She still wasn't stupid enough to tell her anything, but she didn't get the constant feeling that her every move was being reported back to Quinn.

"Anything to report?" She asked, leaning against the wall next to Santana's window and handing her a glass.

"Hmm," Santana nodded, taking an eager sip from her drink. She sighed as the liquid burned it's way down her throat. "Q has some concerns so we'll need to do some discreet checks."

"Checks?" Cara raised an eyebrow and stopped her glass halfway to her mouth. "Like with Devon?"

Santana nodded and ran her finger across her scar distractedly.

"You don't really think anyone would be that stupid again, do you?"

"People have surprisingly short memories."

"Yeah, but…" Cara paused, seemingly trying to find the words. After a few moments she just shook her head and took a drink.

Santana sighed. "Look, Devon clearly wasn't acting alone but after...well, no one was going to come forward after what happened to her. The whole thing just turned into a damn witch hunt. And I'm pretty sure at least half those girls didn't deserve what they got."

The redhead gave her a look and pushed off the wall to go and get the bottle.

"Don't give me that shit." Santana said, a dangerous edge to her voice.

"I didn't say anything."

"You didn't have to." She held out her glass for a refill and locked eyes with the younger girl. "They needed to know. Not just those girls, all the girls. Fuck, the whole damn town needed to know. You don't betray the Cheerios. If we do that to our own girls, imagine what we'd do to outsiders." Santana realised she was rubbing her scar again and knocked back her drink in an effort to settle her nerves.

Cara waited a couple of seconds then filled her glass again. "You're right. I'm sorry. I'll start it up first thing."

"Good. Also Q wants to head out tomorrow night so we need to get hold of that asshat Azimio. Can you take care of that as well?"

"Sure. Anything else?"

Santana shook her head and stared out the window. She lit another cigarette as Cara made to leave.

"Leave the bottle."

"Always do, boss."

"And, Cara?" The girl stopped by the door. "Carefully, okay? I really don't want to go through that again."

Cara nodded and smiled at her softly. "I'll take care of it."

Santana gazed out across the park and thought, not for the first time, that if there was a turning point that could have avoided the nightmare all their lives had become, it was Devon. To go through that again would kill her. Hopefully it would all be just another a Sue's delusions and they could just carry on as normal.

Either way, it was time to get her game face on.


	6. Chapter 6

Rachel's reaction to Marley's admission had not been what she had expected. Well, it hadn't really been much of anything. She had just kind of nodded at her with sad eyes and told her to get some sleep. Now Marley had no idea where she stood or what was going to happen. She half expected to be grabbed at any moment and locked up somewhere.

Instead, she found herself back in the choir room with everyone else for the next days briefing, and this time she wasn't ushered out before the reports came back in. Not that there was much to report, it had been a quiet night by all accounts.

At the end of the briefing Rachel asked Jake and Ryder to stay back, Marley with them.

"I want you guys to take Marley with you tonight." Rachel began. "Zone A is usually pretty quiet and it will be good for her to get to know the town a bit. Marley, do exactly what they tell you, okay?"

"Sure."

"Guys, don't take any chances. Sam and Sugar will be back any day with the supplies and I know we are all suffering. Just...be careful, okay?"

The boys nodded and headed off to pick up their kit.

"Marley," Rachel stopped her. "What we talked about...just be patient. I know you're angry but this isn't the way. We'll find a solution together, okay? Right now just stick with us."

Marley nodded slowly and went to catch up with Ryder and Jake.

* * *

They had been wandering round for a couple of hours and nothing of note had taken place. The guys had given her a bit of a rundown of where things were. Zone A was mainly residential, taking in a few commercial streets towards the centre of town but they were generally pretty quiet. The only exception being the originally named bar, "The Bar", which was run by some of the old football team. They were headed there now.

"So, why is Zone C so bad?" Marley asked.

"Well, it covers the area of town that has the Cheerio's mansion in it, so no one normal wants to live there, or go there. It kind of got abandoned and then all the people who don't have anywhere else to go got pushed in." Ryder told her.

"You know, junkies, crazies, people who gave up caring." Jake added.

Marley nodded, absorbing this new information.

"Hmm, looks like the bar is pretty busy tonight." Jake noted. "Shall we check it out?"

Ryder shrugged and he and Jake started towards it, leaving Marley had no choice but to follow.

"Wait," She whispered as she realised they were headed for the front door. "We're just going to walk in?"

Jake chuckled. "What did you think? We were going to abseil in from the roof?"

"Well no, but...people will see us?"

"People don't care. They're just here to get drunk and forget they live in hell." Ryder reassured her. "Plus, no one knows who we are. It's not like we're Rachel or Finn or those guys. We're pretty much under the radar." He shrugged. "Just a couple of kids."

With that they headed on through the door.

The place was packed out. It was hot and humid and a haze of smoke hung in the air. There were four pool tables off to one side and one of them was being utilised by a group of girls as a makeshift stage. They were performing a raucous routine to Cherry Bomb which was blasting out from the sound system. Ryder and Jake faltered a little as they took in the girls red and white jackets.

Marley looked around the rest of the bar. There was an overwhelming amount of red and white everywhere.

"Um, guys?" She whispered.

"It's okay." Jake slung his arm casually around her shoulder and pulled her off the side. Ryder followed them, a pissed off look on his face. They came to a halt in a largely Cheerio free zone and found a vacant table.

"Shit, Jake." Ryder muttered as he sat down opposite. "They're here."

"Yup."

"What do we do?"

"Nothing, dude. Just grab a drink." Jake pulled out some cash and pushed it across the table at him. "We hang for a bit and then head back, report in."

Ryder nodded and headed over to the bar.

"What's going on?" Marley whispered.

"Top table." Jake said quietly, leaning back in his chair and not looking in that direction. Marley let her gaze wander over there, feigning disinterest. There was a small group set slightly apart from the rest. Sitting in a beat up armchair, legs slung casually over one of the arms and a bored expression on her face was a stunning latina in a tight black top and combat pants. As Marley watched a tall, skinny blonde in a tight fitting blue dress wandered gracefully over, leaned over the back of the chair and ran her hands down the length of the other girls body before moving round to the front of the chair and climbing into her lap, pulling her into a deep kiss. To the right of them, bright pink/purple hair held off her face with a dark bandana, was Quinn Fabray.

Marley made no sound, gave no acknowledgement, just let her gaze continue to drift round the room.

Jake gave her a small nod as her eyes returned to his. "So, the two currently enjoying an increasingly uncomfortable make out session are Santana and Brittany. The skank to their right is Quinn Fabray. She doesn't look like much, does she?"

Marley could think of several responses to that but she figured a small shake of the head was probably safest.

"She's a fucking psycho. They all are." He muttered, taking his drink off of Ryder as he returned.

"So what do we do?"

He shrugged. "Like I said, we finish up our drinks and report back. It's not like they're going to do anything anyway."

Marley turned and looked back at them. Santana was leaning back and saying something to Quinn who had her head cocked towards her and a barely perceptible smile on her face.

"Why not?" She asked.

"Huh?" Ryder turned towards her, a frown on his face.

"Why don't they do something about it?" Marley turned her attention back to the boys. "Why doesn't anyone? I mean, it would be pretty easy to just...you know?" She looked between them angrily. "I mean she's right there."

She snapped her head back up towards Quinn.

Who was looking right at her.

Marley's blood ran cold as those eyes locked onto her own.

"Oh, shit." She heard Ryder whisper. "Okay, I really think maybe we should go."

"Hi there." A bright voice said directly behind her. "I haven't see you guys here before."

"Really?" Jake answered, voice admirably cocky. "Well, we're in here all the time."

"Oh, I think I'd remember you." Marley managed to tear her eyes away from Quinn, only to find her eyes locking with another blonde. This one was short with a high ponytail and looked vaguely familiar. "And I would definitely remember this one." She gestured at Marley.

"Well I don't know what to tell you. We'll keep an eye out for you next time...what did you say your name was?"

"I didn't." The girl said, still staring at Marley. She held out her hand and smiled sweetly. "Kitty."

Marley stared down at the proffered hand. She had no idea what was happening but she didn't see it ending well. At all.

"Marley." She stuttered out eventually.

"How cute!" Kitty laughed and picked up Marley's drink. "May I?" Marley raised a shoulder in response and the girl took a long drink. "Thanks, I was parched. It's been a long night. You know what we should do?"

Marley glanced over at Jake for help. He was just leaning back in his chair, face blank, tapping out some unheard rhythm on his lip. "What?" She muttered.

"You should come with me and I'll introduce you all to my friends."

"Yeah, no thanks, Kitty." Jake said, his expression not changing. "I think we're going to head out."

"Yeah, we're not really feeling it in here tonight." Ryder piped up, causing Kitty to swivel round in his direction for the first time.

"Aw, that's too bad, donkey face. See, it wasn't really a request." She smiled at him sweetly. Marley glanced up and saw that they had attracted quite a crowd. "And if you hadn't been so rude about it you might have had a few more minutes of ignorant bliss." She jumped up and clicked her fingers behind her as she moved away. A group of about ten Cheerios surrounded their table. Jake and Ryder shared a look before Jake slowly stood and began to follow Kitty up through the bar, Marley following and Ryder bringing up the rear.

Marley glanced about, trying to spot any conceivable escape route. She saw nothing but a sea of red and white. Had they multiplied since they had arrived? Maybe someone had spilt water on them, or something.

"Hey, momma." Kitty purred as they reached Quinn. "Been shopping and got some gifts for ya."

"Kitty, you shouldn't have." Quinn purred back. "And such pretty gifts too. Wherever have they been hiding, I wonder?"

"I like the one with the floppy hair." Brittany announced from her position in Santana's lap, absently running her fingertips across the latina's abs. "Although he has too many teeth. I'd like to fix that."

"Hmm, I'm assuming the little wide eyed beauty is suitable for you, San?" Quinn asked, her eyes never leaving Marley's.

"Me gusta." Santana replied, sounding bored.

"You." Quinn's eyes snapped to Jake. "You remind me of someone."

"Oh yeah?" Jake sounded equally bored. "Lucky me."

"Yeah," Quinn chuckled, her eyes sparkly dangerously. "Someone I haven't seen in a very long time. You definitely remind me of him."

Jake just stared at her.

Quinn stared back, a smile playing on her lips.

"Thank you Kitty." She said suddenly, smiling up at the girl. "You three. Sit."

Three chairs were pushed into the backs of their legs on the command, causing them each to drop down into them heavily. Marley couldn't take her eyes off Quinn, even though she figured she should probably be more concerned with Santana at this point. She forced her head to turn and glance over at her, relieved to see that she seemed more interested in her own nails than any of them. Brittany, on the other hand, seemed very interested in her all of a sudden, her intense blue eyes sending a chill to her core. She uncurled herself from Santana's lap and began to slowly wander around, gracefully moving in time with the beat. Slowly she shifted her gaze from Marley to Ryder and moved directly behind him, holding onto the back of his chair and using it to dance as close to him as possible without actually touching him.

"So," Quinn started cheerfully. "Tell us about yourselves."

Marley glanced over at Jake. He was sitting easily in his chair, hands clasped loosely between his open legs. He smirked a little.

"Hi. I'm Jake. I live in this small town in Ohio that's run by a sadistic skank, her two lesbian lapdogs and their old high school cheerleading squad."

"Ooh, easy there, stud." Santana said quietly, glancing up at him. "You really don't want to try and piss her off. Chica es loca." She narrowed her eyes at him and went back to her nails.

Brittany shifted her dance over to Jake. "Yeah, you better watch yourself, baby Puckerman. Things tend to escalate quickly round here." She draped herself over his shoulders and Marley heard Ryder draw in a sharp breath.

"Oh, yeah, now I remember." Quinn smiled as she leaned forward and rested her hands on the table. "You remind me of the guy who knocked me up when I was 15!"

"Uh-oh…" Santana sing-songed from next to her, smiling at Jake with a glint in her eye.

Brittany looped one of her arms around his neck when his body tensed up. She tutted in his ear softly and shook her head when he tried to shake her off. "Bottom of the pyramid, baby. Don't try it."

Marley felt a set of hands push down on her shoulders and when she looked over at Ryder saw that he was also being held in place.

"Did you honestly imagine that we don't know every single detail of what goes on in your pathetic little group?" Quinn laughed. "I'm kind of insulted, actually." She looked over at Santana. "It's kind of arrogant."

Santana shrugged. "Well, they do have Rachel Berry as their leader. I suppose arrogance and self involvement were to be expected."

"Sam and Sugar have been gone an awfully long time this trip, haven't they?" Brittany whispered in Jake's ear before licking slowly all the way up his neck.

"Baby, easy with the licking." Santana grimaced. "You know the kind of people he's been with. I'm going to have to scrub you extra hard to get the stench of loser off you as it is."

Brittany pouted but dropped her head onto Jake's shoulder.

"So, new girl." Quinn whipped her head back to Marley suddenly. "I want you to go and tell Rachel Berry that I want her and her band of losers to be out of town by tomorrow. The fact that she has set herself up in opposition to me yet done absolutely nothing in four years is just…" Quinn shook her head and scoffed, before turning to Santana again. "Like, honestly, can you think of one single thing she has actually done? Anything?"

"Did she put devil horns on a poster of you?" Santana said after a few moments thought.

"No, that was Karofsky."

"Hmm. The letter writing thing?"

"No, that was back in high school."

"Oh. Then no." Santana shrugged.

"So, yes, in conclusion, for someone to set themselves up as my nemesis and then do absolutely nothing about it is, frankly, a little embarrassing for me." Quinn sighed. "Plus, her very existence has always angered me so get your ass back there and tell her she has til tomorrow night or I burn the fucking school down." She finished quietly and with a look that made Marley's heart clench in fear.

Suddenly she was lifted out of her chair and shoved through the bar. She glanced back over her shoulder at Ryder and Jake. Ryder nodded at her sharply but she could see the fear in his eyes. And then she was out the door, shoved unceremoniously so she was on her hands and knees on the asphalt. She picked herself up and ran, not looking back.

* * *

There was shouting, so much shouting. She could barely make out anything that was being said, her mind still trying to process the events of the evening.

"Puck, dude, seriously, you need to calm the fuck down!" A big lipped blonde guy that Marley had never seen before yelled. "This isn't helping!"

"Don't fucking tell me to calm down, man! They've got my fucking brother!" Puck yelled back, shoving him.

"Don't fucking push me man, I'm seriously this close…" Blonde guy spat, his fists balling at his sides.

"Puck, Sam, stop it!" Kurt cut in, getting in between them and putting a hand on each of their chests. "Just sit down. We need to come up with a plan and I really don't think beating the shit out of each other is going to be a productive part of it."

Puck knocked Kurt's hand away but turned and stomped over to the closest seat and threw himself down in it, hands furiously running through his mohawk.

"Mike, Sam, take the truck and head back to the bar." Kurt continued. "Stay out of sight, we don't need them getting a chance to take more of us. We just need to know if they leave and where they go. Blaine's gone to find Rachel and Finn, they'll be back soon and we'll...I don't know, come up with something."

"I'm going with them." Mercedes said.

"Mercedes, we…"

"Hell no, I am not just going to sit here and wait for Rachel and Finn." She raised her voice, hand popping up to cut him off. "Besides, safety in numbers, right?"

"I'm going too."

"Sugar…"

"No, they're right, Kurt." Mike said quietly. "We'll need a way to get word back to you if they move."

Kurt sighed. "Fine. Just...just please be careful, okay?"

The four of them nodded at him and headed out quickly, leaving Marley alone in the room with Kurt and Puck to just wait.

* * *

"So what do we do?" Finn muttered, picking up the chair he had kicked over a few minutes ago and sitting on it.

"I say we go in there and get them back." Puck spat. "I'm tired of this shit."

"Great idea, Puck." Kurt sang, clapping his hands together. "Why didn't we think of that when they took Rachel? Or Blaine? Or.."

"That's enough, Kurt." Rachel cut in quietly.

They sat there in silence for a few moments.

"Okay, what do we think the chances are they're bluffing?" Tina asked. "Do we really think they'll burn down the school? With us inside?"

"Yes. They're psychotic, Tina." Kurt replied wearily.

"But why now? And why warn us?" Everyone was silent. "Okay, so how about this?" Tina continued. "We leave.."

"Are you crazy?" Puck yelled.

"Absolutely not." Rachel followed.

"Let me finish?" Tina glared at them. "We leave the school, pretend to leave town and regroup. Come up with a fresh plan."

"Tina, they have my brother." Puck sighed.

"But they'll let him go if we leave, right? They always let us go."

"They didn't let Mr Schue go." Finn said quietly.

"That was different." Tina said quietly after a few moments. "That was Sue."

"I...I don't think it would work anyway." Marley spoke quietly. "Pretending. They seem to know everything about you."

Six pairs of eyes snapped up at her.

"How so?" Blaine asked.

"Well, Quinn said they did." Tina scoffed and rolled her eyes, looking ready to interrupt. "They knew that Jake was your brother," Marley continued quickly, looking at Puck. "And they knew that Sam and Sugar were gone and that they were late getting back."

At this last revelation Puck's eyes narrowed and he turned his head slowly to Rachel. "Well, isn't that interesting. I wonder how they know all of this information, huh, Rach?"

Rachel was apparently deep in thought but she looked up at Puck's use of her name. At first she looked confused but then her eyes widened in some kind of recognition. "Noah, that's not…"

"Really? Care to offer a different explanation?" He spat.

"Um, can someone tell me what's going on?" Kurt asked, eyes flicking between the two of them.

Puck sat back in his seat, folding his arms and staring at Rachel as if daring her not to speak. The tension in the room was suddenly unbearable. Everyone was staring at Rachel now, Finn getting more red in the face with every passing second.

"Rachel?" Kurt asked again.

Her eyes darted to his, her breathing rapid, hands gripping the side of her chair til her knuckles went white.

"There's no way that this…"She started, licking her lips nervously. "That she...she wouldn't do that to me. To us."

"Who?" Finn asked, a dangerous edge to his voice.

"Oh, come on, Rachel!" Puck yelled in frustration, jumping out of his chair and storming across the room. "For fuck's sake, wake up! She's always been a heartless, scheming little cunt and she's played you like a goddamn pinball machine!"

"Just shut up, Puck!" Rachel shouted back, tears rapidly forming in her eyes. "It's not true, she wouldn't do that!"

"Someone had better tell me who the fuck you are talking about right fucking now!" Finn slammed his hands into his legs, his face so red Marley was sure blood was going to start pouring out of his ears at any second.

"Finn, please, it's not…" Rachel started before Puck cut her off.

"Rachel's fucking Santana."

The room went unnaturally still. No one moved. Marley wasn't sure anyone was actually breathing. Rachel was looking up at Finn, eyes wide in terror, Puck was leaning against the piano, his whole body rigid. And Finn…

Finn started laughing. Just one bark at first. Then peals of it, high and hysterical. He ran his hands through his hair and pushed down on his head, as if trying to hold it in place. He stood up and took a couple of steps towards the piano, his loud, crazy laughter seemingly holding everyone in place. Eventually it started to subside slightly and Rachel took a tentative step towards him, her hand reaching for him.

"Finn, please…"

"Don't fucking touch me!" He screamed, whipping round to knock her hand out of the way. "Don't you ever fucking touch me again." He turned and stormed out.


	7. Chapter 7

Rachel paused outside the choir room, desperately trying to regain her composure. Everything was falling apart. She needed to get everyone calmed down, get them all back together and focussed. Now. If she didn't it was all over.

Taking a deep breath she pushed the door open and walked in. Everyone immediately fell silent, looking at her in a way that she hadn't seen in over five years.

But at least they were quiet.

"Alright, so here's the point where you all give me a chance to talk. I need to try and explain this to you and I think I've earned it." She held up a hand. "Save it, Puckerman. I think you've said quite enough for one night. If you want to help your brother take a seat." She kept her hand up until Puck had moved away from her and taken a seat with the others.

She took another deep breath and looked at them all as calmly as she could. "It's true. I have...become involved with Santana." She ignored the muttering from the group and continued. "I didn't tell anyone because she's been helping us from the inside and I couldn't risk anyone blowing her cover."

"You can't be serious." Blaine spat. "Santana has never helped anyone in her damn life."

"Be quiet, Blaine." Kurt said harshly, earning an injured look from his boyfriend. "Helping us how?"

Rachel shot him a grateful look. He still looked furious but at least he was prepared to listen. "She has been giving me information on where the best places to get supplies are, when the deliveries will arrive, which depots would be easiest to infiltrate, etc. She found old plans when they took City Hall last month which detail the tunnel systems we have been using recently. She got Blaine out when he was taken at Christmas..."

"Bullshit!" He cried out. "She was the one who beat me!"

"I know that." Rachel crossed over to him with a pleading look in her eyes. "But she had to, Blaine, because she found out Brittany wanted you."

He shook his head, a confused look on his face. "So what? What difference would that have made?"

"Rachel, I have to agree with Blaine on this one." Kurt sighed. "Whilst I am pleased to have an explanation for how you suddenly became our master tactician, she nearly broke his damn arm."

"Yes, but she didn't."

"So, you're saying that because she didn't actually break any bones we should all just embrace her with hugs and kisses?" Tina spat. "She is one of them, Rachel. The worst of them, in fact, she has been since high school."

"Well, in case you haven't noticed, Tina, a lot has changed since high school, and Brittany..." Rachel started angrily.

"Well, clearly since you're suddenly into girls!" Tina interrupted her, voice rising. "And you have been planning our supply raids for the last two years, so obviously we were doing just fine without whatever scraps of information Satan found it within herself to…" Tina seemed to notice Rachel's face flushing and shook her head in disbelief. "Oh, you cannot be serious."

Rachel shook her head slowly, desperately trying to regain her control. "Look, I…"

"Who are you?" Kurt asked quietly. She looked up at him. The look on his face took her breath away. She had never seen him look so hurt, so angry.

So betrayed.

"Kurt, please, you have to understand…"

"No, Rachel, you have to understand." He said, quiet rage echoing in his voice. "She has been torturing us, all of us, for the last six years. Longer if you count high school. When they got me she tied me up, had her Cheerios strip me to my underwear and then sat and watched while they shot paintballs at me. For four hours. How did she explain that one away?"

"Kurt…"

"And now you tell me that you have been sleeping with her and lying to us all for two years? For what? A few scraps of information here and there? A promise not to break our bones when she attacks us? Is she that good in bed that you would betray your friends so completely?"

Rachel hung her head and said nothing. What could she say? She felt a wave of shame wash over her. He was right. She had her reasons for her deceit but that didn't make her feel any less dirty in this moment, didn't make it any easier to explain to her friends how she had fallen in love with the women who had mentally and physically abused them all.

"I can't even look at you right now." He spat, standing up to walk out.

"Kurt, wait, we still need a plan…" Puck started.

"Really, Puck?" Kurt span round and yelled at him. "You're going to start now? How do you think you are any better in this situation? How long have you known, huh?"

"Hey, man, I'm not the one sleeping with the enemy!"

"No, you're just the one covering it all up!" Kurt's whole body was shaking with rage. Blaine jumped up and ran a hand over his back in an effort to calm him down.

"Please, Kurt, it's not Puck's fault…" Rachel tried, tears starting to stream down her face.

"I don't want to hear it, Rachel!" He screamed at her. "I don't want to hear any of this! Look at where we are. Look at how we live. We exist inside a nightmare and the only way we were surviving was relying on this group, this family, and the trust we had in each other. So what do we fight for now? What is the point to all of this any more? What does it matter if they burn down the goddamn school?"

Kurt's rage finally blew itself out and he dropped back into his chair, his head in his hands.

"Whilst I agree with everything Kurt just said," Blaine said after a few moments of silence. "The fact remains that there are two members of our family that we need to get back. I suggest we try and formulate a plan. Rachel, is there anything she might have told you that would give us an edge?"

"What?" Rachel tried desperately to clear her head. "Oh, ah...well, there are the maps. And last time she, ah, got me out...I could take us back there and see if we can use that way to get back in?"

"You mean last time when she broke your face?" Kurt said. "Or was that lies too?" Rachel dropped her head again.

"Come on, guys, we don't have time for this." Puck said. "Rachel, did she tell you anything useful about the layout of the house?"

"Oh, like we can trust anything that came out her mouth?" Kurt spat.

"I trust her." Rachel said quietly.

"Rachel, don't be so fucking naive!"

"Guys!" Tina shouted. "Come on! I know how you are feeling, believe me I do, but we have to push past this right now. Our friends need us." She paused and took a breath. "And I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think we need to give Rachel a little credit."

"What?" Blaine's face scrunched up in anger.

"It's been two years, guys. Even Santana wouldn't be able to lie that convincingly for two years."

"Oh yeah? Are you willing to risk your life on that, Tina?" Blaine nodded in satisfaction as Tina stayed quiet. "That's what I thought. Regardless, I think the mansion should be a last resort. I think our best bet is to somehow intercept them on the way back."

"I agree." Puck said. "Let's grab Finn and get out of here."

"Finn's not here." Rachel told them.

"What?" Everyone turned to stare at her.

"He left. Right after…"

"Jesus Christ, and you're only just mentioning this now?" Puck grabbed his kit off the floor and ran out the door, Blaine hot on his heels.

"Goddamit Rachel, how could you be so stupid?" Kurt snapped, reaching for his own bag.

"I don't understand! Unless you think…"

"Of course, that's what we think! How could you not?" He turned to follow the others.

"But why would he go after her?"

"Because he's still in love with you! For God's sake, Rachel, get your head out of your ass!" He ran after the others. Tina threw her bag at her and gave her a shove to start her moving, Marley following with a shell shocked look.

This was bad. So bad.

* * *

By the time they reached the bar Rachel was in a state of complete panic. She wasn't the only one. Mercedes ran over to them as soon as they pulled up.

"They went in!"

"Who went?" Puck asked as he jumped out of the car.

"Finn got here, yelled something about Santana and stormed over there. Mike and Sam went after him, tried to stop him but they couldn't so they followed him."

"Fuck." He ran his hand over his mohawk and turned round. "Alright, Blaine, Kurt, go round the back, see if you can't find a way in that doesn't draw too much attention. Mercedes, did Finn leave his keys?"

"No."

"Shit. Anyone know how to hotwire a van?"

"I do." Sugar piped up.

"Good, get that thing started. Tina, stay with the car, Mercedes, the truck. Keep the engines running and be ready. Rachel, new girl, come with me." Puck threw his kit back in the car, pulled his hood over his head and strode purposefully towards the bar.

The heat and noise flooded Rachel's sense as she walked in. It was so dark and the music was deafening, the beat fast with a lot of electronic sound layered over the top. There were bodies dancing everywhere and a terrifying amount of red and white.

As Rachel started to discreetly scan the crowd for Finn and the rest of her missing friends., the song ended and a new one started. Gods and Monsters by Lana Del Rey. The bodies slowed their chaotic rhythms and her eyes landed on Santana, dancing slow and sensually, her body locked to Brittany's.

She felt sick. Her whole body locked up and all she could do was stand and stare as Brittany ground into Santana and licked a slow line up her throat. Santana pushed a hand against Brittany's chest, dipping her backwards, their pelvises still pressed together. As she popped back up Santana spun her round and pressed up against her back, one arm round her waist, her free hand stroking along her jaw, down her throat and between her breasts as Brittany's face turned towards her for a kiss.

Rachel turned and pushed back through the crowd, heaving. She made it no more than a few feet before she heard the fight break out and the crowd started pushing her backwards. Stumbling she tried to turn around and get back with the flow. There was a jumble of limbs and bodies in her way, knocking her every few seconds, making her seriously concerned she would go down and get trampled. She grabbed hold of the shoulder of the guy in front and was trying to pull herself into a steadier position when she saw Santana again, bent double, hand on her side, blood dripping between her fingers and a look of pure rage on her face. Rachel followed the direction she was looking in and saw Brittany, arms wrapped around someone else's waist now, face attached to theirs. There was a clear space in front of them but people jostling behind, and on either side. The person had their arms stretched out and it was only when he fell to his knees that Rachel saw that his arms were being held by two other guys and that Brittany wasn't kissing him.

She was biting him.

"Finn." She whispered in horror.

As he crumpled to his knees Brittany dismounted gracefully and circled in front of him, raising her arms to gee up the crowd. As they roared she spun around on her long legs and aimed a kick straight into his face. Rachel could hear the crunching of bone even above the crowd. She looked around wildly for Puck, Sam or Mike but couldn't see any of them. She looked towards Santana again. She was down on one knee now, breathing hard but she still looked pissed which Rachel hoped was a good sign.

Finn's eyes were rolling in his head. He kept trying to stand and didn't seem to realise he was being held down. Brittany walked past him and bent down to pick something off the floor. As she raised it above her head it reflected the light straight into Rachel's eyes and she realised it was Finn's knife.

Desperately she began pushing her way through the baying crowd. She had to stop this, this was her fault. Brittany circled once again and then crouched down in front of Finn, drawing the knife slowly down his face, her held tilting from side to side. She licked the blood off where she'd cut him and slowly moved round behind him, one hand pulling his chin up, exposing his throat, and the other lowering the knife. Suddenly Rachel saw Puck appear in the crowd behind them and she prayed he would make it through in time, but then Santana was up, holding her hand out to Brittany for the knife. Rachel almost cried in relief.

Until Santana started playing to the crowd.

"Alright, ladies and gentlemen. How shall we play this, huh?"

Rachel could see the sweat dripping off Santana as she gripped her own side. She was wearing all black so Rachel couldn't see if it was still bleeding but Santana's hand was covered in blood.

"This cabrón just stabbed me in the side, so do I return the favourite or make it a surprise?" She put her knife hand up to cup her ear, waiting for a response. Rachel couldn't make them all out but she could hear Santana's responses and they left little to the imagination. "Please, as if I'd go there. I didn't bring my glasses. Nah, too much blubber to get through first."

Suddenly she stopped. "D'you hear that, Finnocence? How'd you like the sound of that? Someone bring a table!" A tall brunette Cheerio pushed her way into the circle and gave Santana a shot of something, then proceeded to wrap a bandage round her waist. She spoke to Santana in a low voice and Santana shook her head quickly as she downed the shot.

The table appeared, along with two chairs and was placed in between Finn and Santana. Finn was dragged into one chair while Santana took the other.

"Alright, pendejo, we're going to play a little game called five finger fillet." Santana smirked at him as one of his captors slammed his hand down on the table. "Heard of it?"

"Fuck you, Lopez." Finn growled, his eyes beginning to clear.

"Ooh, nice talk , Flubber. You kiss Berry with that mouth?"

"Do you?" He smirked back at her. She slammed the knife down between his middle and ring finger, causing him to jump back in his seat.

"Enough small talk," Santana continued reaching over for a fresh shot and downing it. "As I was saying, five finger fillet is an amusing little game wherein you attempt to stab the table in between your fingers, in sequence, as quickly as possible. However, since A, Britt most likely broke your nose and you probably can't see very well just now, B, judging by your dancing your coordination is laughable at best, life threatening at worst and C, you did just attempt to gut me like a fish, I am volunteering my services to wield the knife on your behalf."

The crowd roared again. Brittany circled the table raising her hands like the audience warm up on a game show.

"Now, on to the stakes. If you, by which I mean me, can complete the sequence five times without stabbing yourself in the hand, by which I mean me stabbing yourself in the hand, then I, by which I mean me, gets to stab you anywheres I wants." She grinned and downed another shot. The crowed cheered, egged on by Brittany.

"Now, you might say that's a little unfair. Well, whine it, seeing as it's you. But, here's the kicker," She giggled, slightly drunkenly. "If you fail, and by you I mean...you know what I mean." She downed another shot. "Then Britt gets the knife back, and she gets to do whatever she wants with it."

The crowd let out a collective "ooh!" as Brittany jumped in the air and clapped her hands together excitedly.

"So, the trick here, Finn," She drawled out his name with a drunken roll of the eyes. "Is to keep your hand as still as possible and just, ya know, go with it." She smiled at him sweetly and raised her shot glass, leaning back in her chair. "Would you like a shot to calm your poor nerves?"

Finn clenched his jaw and nodded slightly.

"Tequila for my fat friend here!" She called to no one in particular. "Now, I must warn you," She slurred as his shot was placed in front of him. "This is my fifth one of these in a very short space of time and I've lost a lot of blood. Cheers!" She downed her shot and lifted Finn's to his lips at the same time before she picked up the knife.

"Here goes nothing, Hudson. If you still have all your fat fingers after the fifth time through it may suck slightly less for you."

The crowd went deadly silent as the knife dropped down for the first time. Santana paused briefly, smiling at him wickedly before moving on to the next finger and the next in quick succession. There was no pauses between the next seven stabs and Rachel realised she had been holding her breath. The end of the first sequence. The next one started up and there were no more pauses, just the rhythmic "dunk" of knife into wood, speeding up inexorably with each pass. Just as she felt she could take no more there was a clatter of metal on wood and Santana was up out of her chair, arms aloft like a prize fighter. She did a lap of honour, slapping people's hands as she went. Rachel ducked her head as Santana passed her section, not trusting herself to catch her eye. Santana stopped and chucked a pouting Brittany under the chin as she reached the table. Rachel felt the bile rise up within her once more as she watched Santana link their pinkies before turning round to retrieve her knife.

Santana perched on Finn's side of the table, his hands now pulled behind his back and picked up another two shots.

"Nice work, manboobs. I was sure you were going to piss your pants." She raised both their glasses, knocked back hers whilst tipping his into his mouth, and in one fluid motion threw the glasses to the ground, flipped the table over and brought the knife down into his thigh.

Rachel felt someone at her back as Finn roared out in pain, Santana span round and was suddenly looking right at her, her eyes widening in fear, and then Rachel was deaf, Santana stumbling backwards and Finn was...well, he was just gone. She saw his feet sticking up as she was dragged backwards, her ears ringing and the side of her face on fire. She couldn't work out what was going on. Was she falling? No, her legs were moving, but she was going backwards, there were hands on her arms, were they hers? Oh, God, the pain in her face! Suddenly she was cold. No, she wasn't cold, the air was cold. She was outside. Her thoughts started to come back to her and she realised she was outside, being dragged backwards. She heard a van door slide open and she was shoved into it. That was when the pain in her face really started to hit home. She cried out and her hand shot up to her face. Then she felt a sharp pain in the back of her head and everything went black.


	8. Chapter 8

Santana slammed through the door into Quinn's office.

"What the fuck, Fabray?" She yelled at the girl standing behind the desk. "You fucking shot me!"

Quinn raised an eyebrow and shrugged. "You were in the way."

Santana stopped dead in the middle of the room and stared at her. After a couple of seconds she laughed. "I was in the way."

Quinn ignored her and moved over to her drinks cabinet.

"I was in the way?" Santana repeated angrily. "I was in the fucking way? Have you lost your damn mind? You could have fucking killed me!"

"Well I didn't." Quinn replied calmly. "Drink?"

Santana let out a final short laugh and sat down carefully in the chair. "Of course I want a fucking drink. Look at the state of me. Shot, stabbed…"

Quinn wandered over to her, glass in hand, and ran her eyes appraisingly over Santana's bandaged body. "Hmm. Well I did tell you I wanted to raise a little hell."

"Yeah." Santana chuckled dryly before knocking back her drink. "This wasn't exactly what I had in mind." She held out the glass for a refill.

Her body hurt like hell. Cara had done a pretty good job of patching her up and thankfully the bullet had passed through her shoulder without hitting anything major, but it still hurt like a motherfucker every time she moved. Add to that the fact that she felt like she was about to split in two with every step she took thanks to Finn's efforts, she needed all the alcohol available to numb the pain.

Quinn refilled her glass and wandered back behind the desk. Santana watched her, trying to find any indication of what was going through her mind. Realising she wasn't going to get any she tried the direct approach.

"You killed him."

"Yes I did." She answered simply, settling into her chair and closing her eyes.

Santana swirled her drink in her glass. She had a million questions running through her mind but she couldn't get her brain to settle down enough to process them all. Besides, there was only one that she really needed to know now.

"Why?"

Quinn opened her eyes and looked at her coldly. "Because I knew you wouldn't."

Santana stared at her in wonder. Who was this person? What had happened to her best friend? What had happened to all of them? She thought back to the three girls they had been in high school. Quinn's excitement when she got made head cheerleader, her despair when she got pregnant and the position was taken away from her. The sheer joy that would radiate from Brittany when the two of them would go and feed the ducks, the look of utter heartbreak whenever someone would call her stupid. And Santana remembered how alive she felt whenever she performed with Glee club, especially when she got a solo, and how being outed on TV and disowned by her abuela had made her feel like she was dying.

They were normal teenagers back then. Sure, they had their faults. They were bitchy and cruel, selfish and judgemental, but who wasn't? Now the only enjoyment Britt got from ducks was wringing their necks and playing with their innards. Santana was so deep in character most of the time that she couldn't remember where she ended and the act began half the time.

And Quinn had just killed a man. Her ex-boyfriend. Shot him in the head. Through the body of her best friend because she was "in the way".

Santana's head was too full. It felt woolly. She rubbed her eyes and took another drink.

"I wanted so badly to believe that you would." Quinn said quietly. She sounded far away. "When you took the knife off B I thought finally you were going to show me that you were still with me. But then you started playing that stupid game instead and I just knew." She sighed. "At least I thought I knew. Turns out I didn't know the half of it."

"What are you talking about, Q?" Santana's mouth felt weird. Her words were all slurry. The painkillers must have been stronger than she thought. God, she was tired. Her eyes were getting heavy.

"We've had our issues over the years, Santana, but I really thought it had made us stronger. And of all the things I loved about you, the things I cherished most about my best friend, the most important, the one that made you you was your fierce, unwavering loyalty. Without that who are you?"

Santana was struggling to keep her eyes open, she was freaking out. This was not normal. She looked up at Quinn. She was so far away.

"Just some girl I shot because she was in the way."

Santana's head started to drop down again, confusion and tiredness washing over her. She tried to focus her eyes and they landed on the glass in her hand. The glass Quinn had given her. She heard one last thing before the drugs took over.

"I've got your girlfriend, Santana."

* * *

Santana came to with a start as a bucket of ice cold water was thrown in her face. She sat there for a few moments gasping and spitting out water before the pain of her injuries rushed through her body and the memory of what had happened came crashing down on her. She realised she was tied into a chair and let out a roar filled with rage and pain.

"Morning boss," Kitty smiled at her, bucket swinging in her hand. "Happy hunting?"

Santana shook her head violently to try and get the water out of her eyes and hair. "Is there any other kind?" She growled through gritted teeth. The pain in her shoulder was intense with it being pulled back in such a way but she'd be damned if she would let them see that.

Kitty chuckled at her response and walked off. "I'll go tell momma you're awake. Don't go anywhere."

Once she had managed to get her eyes relatively clear she tried to look around. She was in the basement, that much was obvious. It also wasn't good. Bad things happened down here. She should know. She had been present for most of them, hell, she'd been an active participant in most of them. Granted, she had not enjoyed most of those moments like some of the others seemed to, but she couldn't deny her part in them.

That was the thing about Santana. For most of her life she had put across this aggressive front, cutting people with her words and threatening to actually cut them with various bladed objects concealed about her person, but she had never really been a violent person. Threaten enough people and no one ever gets you into a situation where you have to follow through. Before all this started the worst she had done was slap people, and even then not particularly hard. Well, except for Finn.

Finn. Fuck, thinking about him brought the bile back up in her throat. After she had stabbed him in the leg she had turned around to the crowd only to see Quinn striding through it with a gun pointed at her. She didn't really feel the pain at first, it was just liked someone had punched her in the shoulder. She had fallen backwards and, once the shock of it had worn off and she had realised she wasn't dead, tried to protect herself from the bodies stampeding around her in panic. That was how she found herself pressed up against him on the ground. The bullet had hit him in the top of his head on a downward trajectory and the bottom half of his skull was gone. The smell of his blood had burned it's way up her nostrils and her face had been inches away from the mess that had once been his brain. She had scrambled away from him in horror, only to be kicked in the back by someone as they tried to get out, sending a bolt of pain through her injured side. Then she felt two sets of arms lifting her up and she was bundled out of the place and into a car. That was when she blacked out.

When she had come to she had been all patched up and lying across the back seat of a moving vehicle. Cara had been driving and after ten minutes or so they had arrived back at the mansion. She had marched straight in to see Quinn, against Cara's advice, and Quinn had drugged her.

Rachel.

The memory of Quinn's last words to her rang through her head and she tried desperately to see further around her for any other signs of life down here.

She was positioned towards the far end of the basement, facing the furnace. She knew that there was a large open space behind her and that that was where most of the toys were kept. Unfortunately the way she was tied and the pain in her shoulder didn't give her much scope so she was pretty much clueless. The room was deadly silent. She didn't know whether that was a good thing or a bad thing.

It was freezing in the basement and the ice bath, the fear and the pain started her shivering uncontrollably. She needed to get it together. She needed to get out of there, fast. If Quinn knew about Rachel then neither of their futures were looking at all bright. There were only two ways out of the basement, the stairs or the tunnel that she had sneaked Rachel out of last time she was brought in. The tunnel was closer and safer but she needed to get herself out of this damn chair first. She started trying to work her restraints but her fingers were numb and the pain in her shoulder was so bad she was starting to feel she might pass out again.

Then the door opened and her window of opportunity slammed shut.

"Santana!" Quinn greeted her cheerfully as she descended the stairs. "Awake at last, thank goodness. I was starting to worry about you."

"Your concern is touching." Santana responded as evenly as possible. "Although slightly muted by the fact that you shot me, drugged me and tied me up."

She heard Quinn chuckle quietly as she got closer to her.

"Yes, sorry about that. Tiny side effect of betraying me."

"I didn't betray you Quinn," Santana sighed. "You're paranoid."

"Oh really?" Quinn asked dramatically as she at last moved into Santana's line of sight, dragging a severely beaten Rachel Berry with her. "I have someone here would beg to differ. At least, she would if she could speak. There's a chance I might have broken her jaw. Oops." She put on a bashful face which might have been convincing had she not shoved Rachel into the wall whilst still wearing it.

It took all of Santana's strength to keep her expression neutral at Rachel's broken cry of pain and the whimper as she crumpled to the floor.

"Get her up." Quinn ordered. Two Cheerios appeared to drag Rachel back to her feet and began fastening her into the manacles on the wall.

"Come on, Q, you can't be serious?" Santana said indignantly. "Me and Manhands? Where'd you find her, anyway? Been touring the local hobbit holes?"

"No, she came to me, actually." Quinn smiled back. "Funny thing, she was at the bar. Watching you and B dance. Quite intently, I might add."

"What can I say, me and B always draw a crowd." She shrugged with her good shoulder. "We're all kinds of hot when we gots our groove on."

"Hmm," Quinn smiled again. "Anyway, I had the barrel of the gun against her cheek when I fired. She was quite easy to control after that."

"Nice." Santana laughed. "Three birds, one stone."

"Yes, quite poetic really. Bringing down the three corners of a love triangle with one shot?"

"Jesus Christ, Quinn, don't make me vomit." She spat. "I am not in a love triangle with Rachel Berry and Finn Hudson."

Quinn smirked, her eyes shining. "Not anymore."

The fear tightened in Santana's chest. This person standing in front of her bore no relation to her best friend. She had no idea how to reach her. She had no idea what to do.

"She tell you that I was?" She prodded, desperate to get back on even ground.

"Oh, Santana, she didn't tell me anything. All she's done since she got here is scream. Isn't that right, Treasure Trail?" Quinn asked, tapping Rachel's shattered jaw and drawing a whimper. "And that. That I like less." She pulled out a knife and pulled the flat edge down Rachel's face. Then turned and walked slowly towards Santana. "Like I said before, I had my suspicions that you had wavered somewhat in your commitment, and when you did this," She slammed the knife down into Santana's leg, pausing to enjoy her scream. "I became convinced."

Santana's breath was ragged. Then pain in her leg so intense that for a moment she forgot about the rest of her injuries and pulled against her restraints to try and get some relief. White hot pain shot through her skull and she fought the urge to throw up. Taking short, sharp breaths she tried to take control of herself.

"Quinn...I'm...She's…"

"Apparently you've been fucking our little diva here for quite some time." She pulled the knife out of Santana's leg causing her to jerk back in pain. Blood started to flow freely from the wound and Santana's head began to swim. "Come on, treasure trail, how about we take a look, see what's got Satan herself so whipped?"

Quinn took the knife and began slicing off bits off Rachel's top. First she took a triangular piece from a point between her breasts to each of her hips, exposing her stomach.

"Oops, looks like we were wrong, San, huh?" Quinn looked over her shoulder and raised an eyebrow. "But then, I guess you knew that. Or do you wax?" She smirked, turning back to Rachel.

Santana breathed deeply, desperate to stay conscious. She looked over to Rachel and saw she had her head back, face pressed into her arm and her face streaked with tears. The image so mirrored the last time they had seen each other it was unbearable. She had to do something.

"Now, where next." Quinn studied Rachel, the knife tapping against her teeth. "I know!"

She ripped Rachel's top open and slipped the knife under the centre of her bra, cutting through the fabric and exposing her chest.

"Hmm, not bad, Berry." She nodded.

"Christ, Q, if you want to fuck her so bad just do it already." Santana said, teeth gritted with pain. "Would you mind untying me first? I'm kinda bleeding out here."

Quinn looked over at her absently then slashed the rest of Rachel's top off, handing it to one of the Cheerios. "Bind her leg would you? We don't want her dying before we get to the good stuff." She wandered over as the girl started to tie off her leg. "I have to say I am quite disappointed. When I learned about you and RuPaul here I began to suspect you were wavering in your sexuality again, and we all know how vicious sexually confused Santana is, don't we? God I miss her. You're just…" She looked down at her with disdain. "I don't think pathetic is a strong enough word."

As the Cheerio finished her work and moved away Quinn squatted down in front of her and rested her elbows on Santana's knees. "Honestly, S, Finn Hudson, that pathetic excuse for a human being, whom you have hated for years, tries to kill you because you're fucking his girlfriend, fails miserably, as with everything he has ever attempted, and you were going to let him go?" She shook her head sadly and pressed down. Santana bit down on her pain, desperately not wanting to give her the satisfaction. "Am I a victim of disappointment in you."

She pushed herself up sharply and walked back over to Rachel. "Still, I have hope. Time to see what you got in your pants, Berry."

"For God's sake, Quinn, it was a fucking joke, okay?" Santana shouted as Quinn slipped the knife into Rachel's pants. Quinn turned to look at her but ripped the knife downwards anyway. "It was a joke. I was...I decided to see if I could get her to fuck me so I went easy on her one time when we caught her. Then I played nice for a bit, gave her a couple of bits of harmless info and then fucked her." Santana paused for breath, glad to have finally gotten Quinn's attention. "It was so fucking easy I decided to see how far I could go with it. I planned to get her to fall in love with me, make her believe I picked her over you and then bring her in, tell you in front of her." She chuckled. "Didn't really expect to be tied to a chair with a bullet hole and two pretty deep stab wounds in me when I broke her heart though."

Quinn contemplated her for a couple of seconds then broke out into a laugh.

"You sick, twisted freak! That's genius!" She cried, laughing merrily. "Ah, did you hear that Berry? Is your big, wide open heart just shattering into teeny, tiny pieces? Aw, look, San, you made her cry!" Quinn grabbed her head and twisted it over to face Rachel.

Rachel was chained to the wall, naked except for her underwear, her face pressed into her arm with tears running off her chin and onto her bare breasts. Her body was covered in bruises and shaking with the force of her sobs.

"Great, so my plan worked." Santana said, her heart cold and heavy. "It wasn't really worth all the bleeding though so do you think you could untie me so I can get fixed up? And drunk?"

"In a second. I want to show you something first." Quinn beckoned to someone over Santana's shoulder. "Sue sent us a little gift a few days ago. She's been gathering some information for us."

She heard Rachel let out a heart rending moan as the girl from the bar earlier stepped into Santana's view.

"Marley here overheard quite an interesting discussion amongst the Glee club members yesterday." She locked her gaze with Santana, her eyes terrifyingly bright, hard and soulless all at once. It was like staring into hell. "If there is one thing you should know about me after all these years, Santana, it's that I always know when I am being lied to, and I always notice when things are taken from me. When you took the plans we found at City Hall I had no choice but to seek help. You have no idea how much I hoped it wasn't you." Quinn's eyes softened slightly and she turned away quickly.

"Come on, Quinn." Santana said weakly. "You're going to believe this nobody over me? I've had your back for years."

"She has no reason to lie to me Santana. Sue has her mother." She turned and looked at Marley. "And they have this really weird relationship. They're like...really close. Hugs and stuff." Quinn shuddered slightly and turned back to Santana. "You, on the other hand, I know very well, so I know the lengths you will go to to protect your friends. And how much farther you will go to protect the people you are in love with."

"Quinn, for the last time…"

"You remember high school, San?" Quinn started, wandering over to Rachel. "I always thought it was weird how all the focus was on you during the whole outing thing. How it was only you that had your name linked to the sex tape internet debacle. Britt never seemed to get caught up in any of it. Don't you agree, Rachel? Weird, right?" She grabbed Rachel's head and bounced it up and down in a nod. "And then I got to wondering, what if it had been the other way around? What if Finn had outed Britt and not you? What if you had posted the tape? You would have thrown yourself on that burning fire of shit to protect her. You would have made up some whole story where she wasn't really gay, you had forced her into doing something she didn't want to do. You had taken advantage of dear, sweet Brittany and that you were a predatory lesbian who seduced innocents and filmed them whilst you were at it. No matter how scared you were of people knowing about you, no matter what it cost you, you would have done that. As it was, you never once gave her up. It's admirable really." Quinn smiled at her sweetly then used the knife to cut away Rachel's last piece of dignity.

"Not this time, Lopez." Quinn handed the knife to one of the girls. "Get the bag."

"Quinn…" Santana pleaded. "Quinn, please."

Quinn whipped round and punched her in the face. "Don't!" She screamed at her. "Don't you dare beg me for her!"

Santana's chair rocked from the force of the impact. Explosions of light and pain sparked behind her eyes and her breathing was out of control. She didn't know whether she was going to throw up, pass out or die and she didn't know what else to do so she just started trying to rock the chair harder, hoping against hope that it would fall, or break, or her restraints would come loose. Anything to give her back some control.

"What are you doing, San?" A soft voice whispered in her ear, gentle hands on her shoulders steadying her.

"Britt?" She breathed. "Britt, please, help me. Quinn, she's…"

"Of course, baby, I'll help you." Brittany kissed her gently and ran her hand down her back. "But you need to see this first, it's gonna be awesome." She ran her hand back up to Santana's head and held it in place whilst the two Cheerios bundled Rachel into a large sack, tied it shut and lifted her into the furnace.

"No!" Santana cried out desperately, not caring if she got hit, stabbed, shot, anything. "Please! Quinn, Britt, please, please don't do this! Please, I'll do anything!"

"Care to do the honors, B?" Quinn asked sweetly.

"Ooh, yes please!" She skipped over to where Quinn was standing by the control panel.

"Britt, please! Please don't do this! I swear to God I will kill you if you do this." Santana pleaded, heart beating out of her chest, tears pouring down her face.

Brittany looked innocently at Quinn.

"Light the bitch up."

Brittany pressed the button.

Santana cried out as the furnace roared into life and flames licked the glass front.

And then she blacked out.


	9. Chapter 9

Puck shivered in the early morning frost and rubbed his hands up and down his arms. He stamped his feet into the dewy grass to keep his circulation going but he knew he wasn't shivering just from the cold. The weight on his shoulders wasn't just from exhaustion, either. Things had gone wrong, badly wrong and it was his fault. He knew that, he accepted that. It didn't make it hurt any less that his best friend was dead and two others could soon be joining him. All he could do now was try and stop that from happening.

He heard the scrape of metal on metal and whipped around to see where it was coming from. Inching silently forward towards the noise he saw a slight clearing in the bushes and heard a rustle against them as the grate swung forward. He moved towards it slowly, glancing around him for other signs of life, in no way confident in the trust he had placed in this girl.

Still, she was here, she had done as they had agreed and it was his only play. He had gotten them into this mess, he needed to get them out. Those who were still alive to save anyway.

The redhead held a finger to her lips and gestured at him to come quickly. He ducked into the tunnel entrance and watched as she closed the grate and peered through it, making sure no one had seen.

"What's happening?" He said after what felt like hours. She slapped a hand over his mouth so hard his head smacked against the wall. Oh yeah, she was definitely one of Santana's. The glare she fixed on him would have cut glass.

Hand still over his mouth she leaned in close, so close he would totally have made a comment in different, less life or death, circumstances. "Rachel is in the Rec room, Santana went in to see Quinn about an hour ago. You understand that we are in a very tight tunnel, headed towards some very dangerous people who would like nothing more than to cause you a huge amount of pain, and that sound travels?" She whispered, so low Puck could barely hear her. He nodded and she slowly removed her hand and gestured for him to follow her along the tunnel.

The space was incredibly tight, Puck conceded as he followed after her on his hands and knees. At another time he would probably smirk and say that at least the view wasn't too bad. Now, though, the idea just flitted through his brain and joined the rest of the thoughts that he didn't have time to deal with. Such as the sight of his best friends brain splattered over the floor of a dingy bar run by a bunch of assholes he had wanted to beat the living shit out of since he was twelve years old.

His stomach clenched and he had to stop and force himself not to puke right there in the tunnel. He focused on the fact that he would have to crawl through it if he did and took a couple of deep breaths to calm himself down.

The girl noticed that he had stopped and crawled back to him.

"You need a minute?" She whispered, hot breath against his ear.

He shook his head and rested it against the wall. Then he nodded and tipped it into his hands. She dropped her hand on the back of his neck and rubbed it soothingly across his shoulders. His breathing started to calm down, his thoughts stopped making him sick and he reached up to take her face in his hands, lips drawn to hers like a moth to a flame.

She pulled away quickly and turned her head.

Cursing himself he held his hand up and gestured that he was going to move his head to her ear. She nodded stiffly.

"I'm so sorry." He whispered gently. "I...I just…" He dropped his head and took a quick breath. "He was like my brother, you know?"

She leaned into his ear. "I know. That's the only reason you still have balls. Now get your shit together, they need us."

And with that she turned back and crawled off.

After what felt like about four hours, but what was in reality probably only about ten minutes, they came to a bend in the tunnel. The girl stopped and turned back to him, leaning once more to his ear.

"Wait here, I'm going to make sure the coast is clear."

He caught her face in his hand and whispered back. "Why can't I come with you?"

"Believe me, this is not a place you want to get caught."

"Look, forgive my rudeness, or whatever, but I barely know you and you're one of them. You are not leaving me here in this fucking tunnel. For all I know you could have twenty girls round that corner waiting to jump me."

Her face twisted up into a smile. "Oh, baby. You're lucky you're pretty. If we were going to jump you they'd be coming at from behind you. Wait here." She turned and crawled off round the bend leaving Puck to glance nervously over his shoulder.

* * *

Puck was starting to get nervous, really nervous. Was time going crazy slow or had she been gone for hours? Had she actually left him there? He knew nothing about her except that she genuinely seemed to care about Santana. When Santana had taken the knife away from Brittany the redhead had been there trying to patch her up. Santana had spotted him and said something to the girl causing her to glance up at him. Puck had fully expected to be jumped at any second, and when he wasn't it gave him the confidence that Rachel was right about Santana. So, when she was playing the crowd he shouted out to her to play five finger fillet as he knew she was a fucking demon at it and, thankfully, she caught on. He had spotted Rachel in the crowd seconds before Quinn walked up behind her and pulled the gun. And then…

God, it had all happened so fast. People were pushing at him on all sides as he fought to get through to Finn, thinking this was the opportunity to get him out. It wasn't until he found himself standing over his best friend's corpse that he realised what had happened. And then the redhead had grabbed him and together they had picked Santana up and carried her out to the car. Puck had driven off, the redhead in the back dealing with Santana's wounds. And then she had told him that Quinn had taken Rachel. He had pulled the car over, jumped out and lost it. By the time he pulled himself together, the girl was in the driving seat, screaming that she would leave his sorry ass if he didn't get in. After about twenty minutes of seemingly aimless driving Santana came to. They told her what had happened and she got the girl to drop Puck off at the park so he could be waiting when they got Rachel out. He really hoped her plan had worked.

He heard movement in the tunnel ahead and started to move towards it before her saw her turn the corner, gesturing him to stay silent.

"We're too late. They've got Santana in the basement, tied to a chair. They just brought Rachel in and she's chained to the wall. We have to change the plan."

"To what?" He whispered, his heart thumping in his chest.

"I...I don't know."

"Fuck!"

"Look, this tunnel is the only way we had to get in unnoticed. It's not like we can just walk in the front door. Plus, they're both down here so…" She tailed off.

"Well we can't just sit here! We need to do something."

"I know! Alright, look. Follow me but no talking from here on. And don't do anything stupid. We'll just...I don't know, be ready to…" She tailed off again and Puck really didn't like the implication. He nodded anyway and followed her round the tunnel.

As they rounded the corner the space opened up slightly and he saw a square metal door in the wall with a chute underneath it. On either side of the door, about four feet high, were two small vents. He could hear voices drifting through them and he positioned himself by the one closest to him so he could see into the room beyond.

He wished he hadn't. Like the girl had said Santana was tied to a chair. She was drenched and there was a pool of blood on the floor by her right foot. Some sort of black cloth had been tied around her thigh, Puck supposed as some sort of makeshift tourniquet. The sight of Rachel nearly made Puck lose it and he clenched his fists against the wall to try and keep himself under control. They had stripped off all her clothes save her underwear and she was covered in bruises and welts, her arms shackled to the wall above her head. Her whole body was shaking as she cried while Quinn stood laughing at her.

It was all Puck could do to stop himself from ripping open the door and taking the bitch's head off. He had never wanted to hurt anyone so badly before in his life. He tore his eyes away from Rachel to check the rest of the room, see if they had any chance of beating them in a fight. There were only two Cheerios at this end of the basement, one standing either side of Rachel, but Puck could just about make out another group of people at the far end of the room. At a gesture from Quinn two of them began walking over, Brittany and that Marley chick they had rescued. What the fuck was she doing here? As she got closer he saw Rachel sink down in defeat, her legs no longer supporting her weight, and he put it altogether. She was working with Quinn. And she had been there when Puck told everyone about Rachel and Santana.

He staggered back from the wall, sick to his stomach and his whole body trembling. What the fuck had he done? The redhead was on him in a flash, hands on his shoulders to steady him and eyes silently imploring him to keep it together. He shook his head and scrunched his eyes up, his heart racing and all the hurt, rage and fear he had been fighting to keep under control surged up inside him.

Suddenly there was shouting from the basement and the pair of them shot back over to the wall, Puck's fear for his friends overriding his own impending breakdown. The scene was utter chaos. Rachel was now entirely naked and the two Cheerios had been joined by a couple of their friends. They were taking turns kicking and punching Rachel whilst unchaining her from the wall. One of them had some sort of sack with her which she dropped over Rachel's head as she finally collapsed on the floor.

Santana was yelling and rocking wildly on the chair, blood pouring out of her nose and mouth. She calmed down slightly as Brittany walked up behind her and whispered something in her ear, but then she saw what was happening to Rachel and went to pieces.

"No!" Puck heard her cry out as the Cheerios carried the bag, Rachel still struggling inside over towards him. "Please! Quinn, Britt, please, please don't do this! Please, I'll do anything!"

The two of them ignored her, Brittany holding her down as the Cheerios lifted Rachel through some sort of opening in the protruding wall to his right. What the fuck was going on? He felt a tugging on his arm and the redhead pulled him back. She pushed her whole body against him and whispered in his ear.

"You need to be ready. It's going to be hot as fuck in there but you cannot hesitate, not even for a second." She pulled away quickly and knelt by the door, her hands on a large metal lever.

Suddenly there was a huge roar from the other side of the door and she pulled back with all her might.

The door swung open and searing heat came rushing out. At last Puck understood and dived forward, blindly groping for purchase in amongst the flames. As his hands wrapped around material he felt a hand on his belt and was yanked back. He fell backwards down the chute, the bag sliding behind him and the door slammed back shut.

"Help me!" She hissed over the roar of the furnace. The bag was on fire and she was patting at it, trying desperately to stop the spread. Puck pushed her out of the way and threw himself on top of it, using his whole body to put out the flames. The girl ripped open the end worst affected and pulled Rachel out from under him. Wordlessly he picked her up and headed off into the tunnel, draping her over his back when it narrowed and crawling on his belly as fast as he could to get her out.

When they finally reached the grate he took off his t shirt and pulled it over Rachel's head as carefully as possible, tears collecting in his eyes as he covered her burnt, bruised and broken body. He gathered her up and pressed a kiss to her head before jumping out of the opening and running across the park as fast as he could.

* * *

Puck sat in the choir room, his head in his hands. Everything hurt. He had burns on his head, arms and face, his chest and stomach were covered in cuts and grazes from his belly crawl down the tunnel and he was pretty sure he had broken his right hand when he punched the wall ten minutes ago. But none of that mattered. What mattered was that he had got Rachel out. She was still unconscious but at least she was breathing. Mike sat behind him, neither of them speaking a word. The rest of them were downstairs, packing up what they could so they could get out of town.

They jumped up as Tina walked in, tears streaking her face.

"Is she okay? Is she awake?"

"No, she's not awake, and I don't know if she's okay, Puck. I didn't even get to finish high school, I'm not a fucking doctor!" Tina cried. "We need to get her some proper help!"

"I don't know how to, Tina! You must be able to do something?"

Tina took a deep breath and ran her hands across her face to wipe the tears away. "I've cleaned her up, treated all her cuts and done what I could with the burns, but her jaw looks pretty messed up and there could be all sorts of internal issues. What did they do to her?"

Puck let out a snort. "What didn't they do to her? They were going to burn her alive. I just, I can't…" He sat down heavily. "Those girls were my friends, you know? And Quinn. I was so in love with her, do you know that?"

Tina nodded her head sadly and sat down next to him, rubbing his back softly.

"You guys really need better security. Anyone could walk in." The redhead said from the door, startling them all.

"What are you doing here? I thought you'd be halfway to Mexico by now." Puck asked.

"What the fuck?" Tina stared between the two of them in confusion, eyes lingering on the girls read and white jacket. "Who the hell is this?"

"This is, ah…" Puck suddenly realised he had never even asked her name.

"I'm Cara. Nice to meet you." She smiled tightly.

"She's the one who got me to Rachel."

Tina stared at her in bewilderment. "Why?"

She shrugged and walked over to Puck. "Santana asked me to. Here." She handed him a piece of paper with an address scrawled on it. "Take her to this house. He'll get her fixed up. He's expecting you."

"Okay, someone is going to have to seriously fill in some blanks for me here." Tina stood up dramatically. "You're a Cheerio."

"Wow, your powers of observation are breathtaking." She rolled her eyes and turned back to Puck. "I'd love to stay for show and tell but I'm in kind of a hurry. He's all set up for you so I would make it quick, she looked in a bad state." She turned and headed for the door.

"Where are you going?"

"Back. My friend is still in there, remember?"

"Cara, wait!" Puck jumped up and handed the piece of paper to Tina. "Grab a couple of the others and take care of Rachel."

"Wait, you're not seriously going back?"

"Of course I am! I can't just leave her, Tina, not when I'm the reason she's there."

"Puck," Tina grabbed his arm and pulled him back. "They killed Finn. They tried to kill Rachel. They used Ryder and Jake as bait. They're lucky to be alive. We need to get out of here, all of us. Tonight."

"You're right, we do." Puck nodded and pulled his arm away. "All of us. She tried to save him, you know? Even after he stabbed her? I can't just leave her there."

"You saw what they did to Rachel, right?" Cara asked from the doorway. "Santana's one of them and she betrayed them. Can you imagine what they'll do to her? What they're probably already doing?" She shook her head sadly. "Puck, I have to go. Are you in or out?"

"In." He looked at his friends. "I'll be back, Tina. Mike, are you okay to organise the pack up?"

"Screw the pack up. I'm coming with you." He jumped down from the seats and walked over to Cara. "Santana used to scare the crap out of me all the time playing five finger fillet when we were drunk. The girl is like Bishop at that game. There was never a chance in hell of Brittany getting that knife back."

Puck smiled sadly and patted him on the arm. "I know, that's why I shouted it out."

"Touching as your bromance is we need to go. Now." Cara snapped, walking out into the corridor.

Puck raised his eyebrows at Mike and followed her out. Definitely one of Santana's.

"Guys?" Tina stopped them

"Tina, we have to go.."

"I know, just be careful." She said. "I'll get Rachel to this guy and then we'll be waiting at the east entrance of the park. Come up with a plan to get her out and we'll be there if you need us. All of us."

Puck smiled at her gratefully and ran off to catch up to Cara.


	10. Chapter 10

Santana woke up in bed. Correction, Santana woke up on a bed. Naked, spreadeagled, chained. Her throat was parched, her head hurt, she couldn't open her right eye, there was literally not one part of her body that didn't hurt. The room was pitch black so she couldn't see, but from the acrid smell that hung in the air she guessed she was still in the basement.

She felt the tears come to her eyes as she thought about that smell and she bit down on her lip to stop them. She couldn't afford to do this now. She had a promise to keep and Santana Lopez never broke a promise.

There was just one little problem…

She gave an exploratory tug on the chains and winced at the burn in her shoulder. "Get over it, Lopez." She murmured. "Places to go, psychotic exes to deal with…" She yanked at her chains again, over and over, yelling in frustration when they wouldn't give.

The door opened and a light flicked on over the bed.

"Could you keep it down in here?" Quinn said coming down the stairs. "We're trying to have a celebration party upstairs." She smiled down at Santana as she reached the bed. "Ding dong, the witch is dead…"

"You know, you really seem to have a thing about getting girls naked, Fabray." Santana replied calmly. "Something you're trying to tell us?"

"I've been trying to decide what to do with you." Quinn sat delicately down in a chair facing her. "At first, I thought maybe I would just shoot you in the head, but that seemed too easy, you know? Then I thought maybe I could get all the Cheerios to fuck you, one by one, using whatever they liked, but I thought you'd probably enjoy that, being as you are by far the biggest slut I have ever known."

"Wanky." Santana smirked, heart beating wildly in her chest. She just needed one opportunity to get out of these chains. Just one. Come on, that wasn't too much to ask, was it? She asked silently, sending a discreet look to the heavens.

"Next, I thought about cutting bits of you off, see how long you lasted, or maybe just skinning you, but then I realised that your pathetic whining would probably annoy me so much I'd just end up killing you to shut you up."

"So you decided to talk me to death? I think I'd prefer the cutting thing."

"Hmm. Honestly I can't actually bear to be in the same room as you so I came up with a much more satisfactory plan." Quinn stood up and smoothed down her skirt. "I'm going to let B deal with you."

"Excellent." Santana spat, fear crushing down on her. "Been meaning to have a little chat with that twisted cunt. Let's get this party started."

"Oh, Santana." She said, smiling over at her sweetly. "Charming to the last."

Quinn walked back up the stairs , pausing at the top to look down at her, her expression, as usual, unreadable.

"Goodbye, S."

* * *

Santana had never been a big fan of waiting. The fact that she had been shot, stabbed (twice), beaten, and was currently waiting whilst naked and chained to a bed was not doing anything to improve her patience.

Another thing she was not a fan of was not having a plan. That needed to change, and quickly. Unfortunately whatever plan she came up with kind of hinged on whatever plan Brittany had come up with so...still, Santana was pretty good at coming up with things on the fly. It's just that there was kind of a lot riding on this one. Kind of everything, in fact.

The door opened and she appeared, a bright smile on her face as she bounced down the stairs.

"Hi San!" She cried, jumping on the bed and cuddling up to her. "Sorry I kept you waiting, I was just enjoying the party so much, you know?" She ran her finger across Santana's stomach and round to the deep wound on her side, and running her hand across it gently.

"No problem, B. Just lying here, chilling, contemplating my future."

Brittany giggled. "You're so funny, baby!" She stuck two fingers into Santana's wound making her cry out in agony. Brittany smiled and straddled her, licking the blood off her fingers. "Umm, God, I really missed your noises, Santana."

"I'm so pleased." Santana gritted out, breathing heavily.

"And now you have three extra holes for us to have fun with! I can't wait to get started." She ground her hips down into Santana's lap and slowly rocked her way backwards down her thighs. Santana bit down on her lip as she realised what she was going to do. This was going to hurt. "You ready, baby?" Brittany smiled wickedly as she changed position to straddle Santana's bleeding thigh.

Santana slammed her eyes shut and pulled tight on the chains above her head, her pain setting off explosions in her head. Fuck her life, seriously. What the fuck had she done that was so wrong that she was chained up in a basement that reeked of her girlfriend's burnt corpse whilst her sadistic ex dry humped the open stab wound on her thigh? The pain and horror of it were just too much. She let out an agonised roar, which of course brought Britt to climax. She flopped down and lay her head on Santana's chest, breathing hard.

"God, that was good. I missed you, baby."

Santana swallowed down the bile that was forcing its way up her throat and wrestled her emotions back under control. "Well, I tell you what, Britt, untie me and I'll fuck you properly."

Brittany lifted her head, eyes bright. "Yeah? Like the old days?"

"Yeah," Santana forced herself to smile. "Just like that."

"Like before you broke up with me so you could fuck Rachel Berry?"

Her eyes narrowed. "You know that's not what happened. You nearly killed me."

Brittany pushed herself up and pouted. "I was only playing. We were having fun." She ran her fingers lightly over Santana's breasts.

"No, you were having fun." She answered sharply. "I was trying to.."

"Trying to what?" She asked expectantly.

"I was trying to save you, Britt. After Devon, after what Sue made you do, made all of us do, you just…" Santana let out a sad sigh. "Well, you got lost. You weren't you anymore. And I loved you. I thought I could bring you back.

A tear rolled down Brittany's cheek and she leaned down to kiss Santana deeply. Santana felt conflicted. She wanted to kill her for what she had done to Rachel, but the thought that she might finally be getting through to her, that she could still save her...Brittany was her first love. Quinn had been right, Santana would have done anything for her back then. The fact that Britt was broken wasn't her fault, this had been done to her. So she allowed the kiss to happen, hoping desperately that she could get bring her Brittany back, or at least get her to undo the chains.

And then Brittany bit her. Hard.

"What the fuck?" Santana yelled, furiously spitting blood out of her mouth. Brittany casually hopped off the bed and pulled a box out from under it.

"Quinn was right about you." The blonde said lightly. "You really are pathetic, Santana. I don't need you to save me. There's nothing to save me from. What we did to Devon didn't make me lost, it showed me the way. I love that people are afraid of me now. People were never afraid of me before, how could they be when big, bad Santana Lopez was always there to take care of anyone who dared to pick on poor, weak Brittany." She placed the box on the bed and sat next to it. "I was never weak, Santana, I never needed your protection. I think you just liked the control."

"Britt…"

"So maybe sometimes I play up the crazy." She shrugged. "It's fun. Besides, crazy people get to play with the coolest stuff." She leaned over to the box and pulled something out of it.

Santana's eyes went wide with fear.

"Jesus Christ, Britt…" She pulled hard against her chains, willing them to give just a little.

"What's the matter?" She smiled sweetly. "It'll help with the bleeding. I heard fire is good for that."

"Yeah, like a heated blade, Britt, not a fucking blowtorch!"

"Ah, what's the matter? Is big, bad Santana Lopez scared?"

"Of course I'm fucking scared, you freak!" She yelled, yanking desperately now. "I'm chained to a bed next to a psycho with a fucking blowtorch! Fuck!"

"Well, that was rude." Brittany pouted, fiddling with her new toy. "I was going to go easy on you at first but now I think I'll start with something major."

She stood up and looked Santana over.

"That cut on your eye looks pretty bad. Let's start there, shall we?" She smiled again and walked around to the right side of the bed, lighting up the blowtorch as she went.

Santana was not one for praying. It had never done her any good in the past, but fuck, was everything in her right now desperately trying to open up lines of communication with any form of higher power. She twisted wildly on the bed and pulled at the chains with every ounce of strength in her body as the blue flame came closer and closer. She turned her face away, steeling herself for the pain with a final cry and yank of the chains when it happened.

The bed broke.

The frame snapped at the end below her head, base dropping to the floor and the metal uprights tilting forward and knocking the blowtorch from Brittany's hands. As she leaned forward to retrieve it Santana realised she had some give in the chains and grabbed the blonde head with one arm, pulling it down to her chest. Punches started raining down on her injured side and her vision started to go dark. With her other hand she wrapped the chain around Brittany's neck and pulled as hard as she could, choking her. The punches stopped and the blonde tried to pull away, her eyes furiously locking with Santana's.

Then the fury died down and was replaced with panic. Santana wished with all her heart that she could stop. That they could all just stop and go back to what they had been a lifetime ago. But she knew that she couldn't, that they wouldn't. She knew if she stopped she was dead. So she held on, her arms trembling, tears pouring down her face as she watched the girl she had loved for so long die. By her hand.

As the lights went out in Brittany's eyes and her body went limp Santana unwrapped the chain, leaned over the other side of the bed and vomited on the floor.

* * *

She really needed to pull herself together. Like right now. She just couldn't. She knew that at any second the door could open and she would be dead. She just couldn't bring herself to turn around and see Brittany. She focused on breathing and willed herself to stay calm, just for a little bit longer.

She used the give in the chain to move, with her back to Britt, back across the bed and assess the situation. The bottom of the mattress at her end was touching the floor, the metal uprights having snapped at the bottom joint but not the top. This meant that she was still attached to the bed, and still had no keys to unlock herself.

"Shit." She swore. She inspected the joint closest to her, to see if that was close to snapping as well and started working at it. After a couple of minutes it gave and she was able to slide her chain out. She breathed a sigh of relief at having one hand back, but then realised that she was still attached to three corners, as well as the chains themselves, and she had no idea if the foot of the bed was even close to giving out. As she shifted on the bed something rolled into her back.

The blowtorch. She allowed herself a smile for the first time in what felt like forever, picked it up and got to work.

Twenty minutes of hot, careful, dangerous work later, during which she may or may not have been humming the Flashdance soundtrack, Santana was free. Albeit with four stylish new metal accessories adorning her limbs. Now she just had to find some clothes and get the hell out of here.

She jumped off the bed and looked around for any sign of her clothing. Finding nothing her eyes finally turned back her bed. Her stomach clenched at what she was contemplating. Slowly she moved towards Brittany's body. Honestly, she thought it might be easier to parade through town naked than take the dress off her but she really didn't need to draw any more attention to herself. Gritting her teeth she closed the gap and did what she had to do, her silent tears starting up once more.

She slipped the dress over her head as she crossed the room towards the next thing she really didn't want to do. This was the one she really thought might break her. She paused in front of the furnace and took a deep breath.

Just this one more hurdle. Through the furnace. Don't breathe. don't look down. Get to the tunnel and get out. Get to the park, then you can break down. Come on. Do it.

With a heavy heart she pulled open the door and climbed up. She pulled it closed behind her and inched her way round the edge of the still hot space. Funny how it didn't smell as bad in here as it did outside. She willed herself to keep her eyes focused on the wall and not look behind her. She finally reached the access hatch at the far end and grabbed hold of the lever.

"Ah, fuck!" She exclaimed. Metal, Santana, of course it's still going to be hot. Idiot. She tentatively put her fingertips on it quickly, trying to test out if there was anywhere, anyway she could grab it long enough to pull it open. She took the dress back off and wrapped it around her hands then returned to the lever and pulled it.

It was stuck.

"No…" Santana's heart sank. She yanked at it again. "Please no!" Her muscles were burning, everything that she had been through in the last 24 hours catching up with her all at once, and still she pulled at the damn thing. This couldn't be happening. She was so close to freedom she could taste it. She refused to let one metal lever come between her and escape.

And then her strength gave out and she collapsed, sobs wracking through her body. After everything she had managed to get through this was what caused her to break. Here she was, locked in a furnace with the burnt corpse of her girlfriend, unable to summon the strength to open the door. Feeling the panic building up inside her, the mental image fo Rachel's body becoming worse and worse than the reality could ever be. Giving in she turned around and opened her eyes slowly.

She laughed.

Rachel wasn't there.

There was a lot of debris scattered about, obviously what had caused the smell, but nothing big enough to be her remains. Cara and Puck must have been able to get to her.

Satana could not control her body with the wave of relief that washed over her at the realisation. She was laughing, crying, rocking, hugging herself…

Rachel wasn't there.

She gave herself a few minutes to be happy and get herself together before she tried the door again. It still wouldn't budge and she punched it in frustration and was cursing and grabbing at her freshly bruised hand when the lever moved of its own volition and the door popped open.

"Jesus, Lopez, put some clothes on would you?" Puck said from the tunnel. "A guy could go blind."


	11. Chapter 11

Puck could not believe that he was voluntarily crawling back up this tunnel. Seriously this had to rank amongst the top ten most stupid things he had ever done. At best, the Cheerios had not checked on Rachel's body after they had shoved her in the furnace and were unaware of her very much alive status and, hopefully, as Cara believed, the existence of the tunnel. Therefore, again hopefully, they would not be expecting an assault from that angle and would have moved Santana elsewhere. Those were some very big elements to hang on hope, and that was what Puck was trying to deal with as they rounded the corner to the furnace door.

Cara and Puck took up their usual positions at the vents, Mike waiting for any kind of signal. Puck peered into the darkened basement, trying to work out what he was seeing. There was a light down at the far end but he couldn't really make it out.

"What's that?" Mike hissed.

Puck turned to face him, a questioning look on his face. Mike cocked his head towards the small door. There was a noise coming from inside. It sounded like...laughing? Just as suddenly it stopped. Puck walked hesitantly over to the door and slowly pressed his ear to it, only to pull away quickly as something banged against it. He smiled softly and shook his head in relief as he heard a familiar curse coming from the other side of the door. Cara had obviously heard it too as she grabbed the lever as if her life depended on it and between them they popped the door open.

"Jesus, Lopez, put some clothes on would you?" Puck said, grinning wildly. "A guy could go blind."

Santana stepped into the tunnel, blinking rapidly as if she couldn't believe her eyes. "Puck? What the fuck are you doing here?"

"Came to save your sorry ass, of course." He shrugged. "Should have known you'd just be sitting around naked."

She looked at him in confusion before seemingly remembering and glancing down at herself. "Oh, yeah." She shrugged back towards the furnace and folded her arms casually across her stomach. "It was hot in there."

"Um, touching as this all is do you think we could maybe, you know, get the fuck out of here?" Cara snapped, pushing the door shut.

"Hey, Red." Santana smiled, pulling her into a hug. "Thanks for coming back for me."

"Whatever." She muttered, hugging her back tightly. "Put your clothes on and let's go."

Santana laughed, squeezing her once more before breaking away and pulling the dress over her head. "Hey, Mike." She nodded at him. "Long time no see."

"Yeah, and I never thought I would see so much." He winked at her. "You want me to do something with your leg?" He asked, nodding at the deep gash sticking out below the hemline of her dress.

"God, no, don't touch it." Santana grimaced. "Unless you have a deep clean kit stashed somewhere it can wait. Come on, Charlie's Angels. Vámanos."

Santana marched off down the tunnel, Cara right behind her. Mike shrugged back at Puck and turned to follow them, Puck bringing up the rear, chuckling and shaking his head softly.

He hadn't realised how much he'd missed the crazy bitch.

* * *

As Mike shut the grate behind them Santana turned to Puck and Cara with a dark look.

"Did you get her out in time?"

Cara nodded, folding her arms tensely. "Just about. She's in a bad way, though. They really messed her up."

Santana nodded, eyes on the floor. "Did you take her to…?"

"No, but we gave the address to your, er, friends?"

"What?" Santana's eyes flashed as they shot back up. "What the fuck, Cara, why the hell didn't you take her there?"

"Because I needed to get back for you! I set it all up, though, don't…"

"You should have done what I told you too! Jesus Christ, Cara, I thought I made it perfectly fucking clear that…"

"Hey, calm down, okay?" Puck interrupted. "Rachel's in good hands, alright? Tina and the guys went with her."

"Oh, great." Santana laughed. "Tina's going to be a big help when Quinn rocks up looking to finish the job, isn't she? Come on, we have to get there. Fast."

"Woah, hold up." Puck called after her as she started off through the park. "How the fuck does Quinn know where she is again?"

"Because we sent Rachel to Santana's father." Cara muttered as she started after her quickly.

"What?!"

"Hurry up, Puckerman!" Santana hissed angrily.

"Oh, this is just fucking perfect." He said, jaw clenched, as he and Mike jogged to catch up to them.

* * *

They pulled up on a dark street and sat for several minutes staring at a house a little further down. Puck didn't know what he had been expecting but this certainly was not it. The neighbourhood was nothing like Santana's old one, this was much closer to the kind she had given the impression she was from. He had no idea how Mr Lopez had ended up here, if Mrs Lopez was with him, and he was scared to ask.

Eventually Santana seemed satisfied by the lack of activity.

"Okay, let's go. Quietly." She popped the door open and started down the street, sticking to the shadows as much as she could. Puck and the others followed closely behind, alert and silent. Santana led them down an alley and over a tall fence, her hand shooting up to stifle a cry of pain as she irritated one of her wounds.

The garden Puck found himself in was surprisingly well maintained, standing completely at odds with the surrounding area and the imposing fence around it. He followed Santana round the far side to a relatively hidden door, watching a she rattled off a complicated sequence of knocks.

"Hola, papi. Está seguro?" She responded quietly to the voice from inside. The door opened and she was pulled inside. Puck shot over to the door ready to fight, only to see Santana enveloped in a bear hug by her father. "Ow! Papi, por favor!" She winced, laughing.

"Mija!" He kissed her and held her in front of him so he could look. "What did they do to you?"

"It's a long story, one for another time." She shook her head. "Right now we need to move. I'm not sure it's safe here. I'm so sorry, papi, I shouldn't have sent her here. I put you in danger."

"You did right, Santana, your friend was in a bad way." He pulled her into another gentle hug. "She'll be okay but she wouldn't have been if she she hadn't come here. She was asking for you."

"She's awake?" Puck asked, relief flooding his voice.

"She was but I have sedated her." Mr Lopez smiled at Puck and shook his hand. "It's good to see you again, Puck. Although I have to say that this is by far the worst state you have ever brought my daughter home in. And I definitely prefer blind drunk, for future reference."

"Papi." Santana admonished him quietly. "Can I see her?"

"Of course, mija. She's sleeping though." The four of them followed Mr Lopez through the house, Puck, Mike and Cara peeling off into a front room where Tina and the rest of the group were. Tina immediately ran over and hugged him and Mike.

"Thank God you're okay!" She laughed with relief. "How is she?"

"Pretty beat up but, you know. She's Santana." Puck shrugged. "She'll kick your ass if you mention it. Especially in front of her father. Did you speak to Rachel?"

"Yeah, briefly, but she wasn't making much sense and she was mainly just asking where Santana was." Tina looked worried. "I didn't know that was her father. He must have been freaking out."

Puck nodded in agreement and went on to greet the rest of the group, hugging his brother tightly before punching him. "If you ever let yourself get taken again I'll fucking kill you myself, do you understand? What the fuck were you thinking, going in there?"

"I know, dude, I'm sorry." Jake muttered as he rubbed his arm. "I'll be more careful."

"Yeah, well you better." He turned to face the group. "Santana doesn't think this is over yet so we need to be ready to roll. Is everything packed up?"

"Everythings in the van." Kurt answered. "But what about Rachel? I don't think it's such a good idea to move her."

"Well hopefully we won't have to. Have you checked out the house?"

"Erm, no." Kurt replied, blushing slightly. "I didn't realise we would be under attack."

"Well you do now, so let's get on it." Puck barked. "Doors, windows, alleyways, I want eyes everywhere okay?"

* * *

Puck knocked gently on the door and waited a few seconds before going in. Santana was sitting in a chair next to the bed, Rachel's hand in hers. She looked completely defeated. Puck didn't know what to do, what to say that would be of any use to her and he really didn't want to burden her any more, so he just walked over and wrapped his arms round her neck, hugging her from behind.

"We've got the house covered. If they come we'll know about it." He said softly.

"Great. What do we do then?"

"I don't know." He admitted. "Let's worry about that later."

Puck looked down at Rachel. She had a bandage running under her chin and tied on top of her head, her broken jaw held firmly in place The bruising had definitely come out since he had last seen her and she looked awful. Her left arm was in a sling and she looked tiny in the bed. Puck was happy to see bandages on Santana's leg and shoulder finally. He could only hope that it would be the last medical attention any of them required for a while.

Santana sighed and stood up, leaning over the bed to kiss Rachel's head gently. "We can't just sit here. We need a plan." She said at last, turning to face him. "We need to get out of here."

"Can't we just wait it out? We have people everywhere. Can't we just, I don't know, defend ourselves?"

"You don't know her anymore, Puck." Santana shook her head. "She's not the girl we knew in high school. She's ruthless. And we are hugely outnumbered and she will throw bodies at this place til she is in." She opened the door and walked out into the hall, Puck closing the door gently as he followed her out.

They turned the corner to find Blaine and Sam in the middle of a heated discussion.

"What's going on?" Puck asked.

"Nothing." Blaine answered quickly, throwing a warning glance at Sam who huffed and turned away.

"What is going on?" Santana repeated, her voice dangerously low and her eyes narrowed.

"We were just...discussing our next move." Blaine said cautiously.

"And?" She asked, folding her arms and tilting her head. "What amazing ideas did you geniuses come up with?"

"Well…" Blaine looked cautiously between her, Sam and Puck. "Whilst I am all for the, uh, defensive approach…"

"We can't just sit here!" Sam jumped in. "We're totally exposed. She knows your dad is a doctor, she probably knows you two have escaped by now. She's totally gotta be on her way."

"So what do you want to do, guppy face?" Santana glared at him, their raised voices bringing more of the group in. "Fold Rachel up in the trunk and hightail it out of here?"

"No! I'm saying we should take the fight to them!" He yelled back.

The silence that settled across the house was deafening. Puck held his breath and waited for Santana to rip Sam a new one.

And waited.

She just stood there.

"Look, Santana…" Blaine started.

"Save it, Curly Sue. Let's here Samwise's plan." Santana said quietly, eyes never leaving Sam's face.

"Uh, well…" Sam stuttered, face flushing heavily. "I, uh, don't really...that is I haven't ironed out all the details. Yet."

Santana nodded and took a step towards him, arms still folded. "I see. So you were going to...what, exactly? Figure it out when we got there? Maybe sing her a little song, bat your eyelashes at her and convince her to 'stop the madness'?"

"Well, no. I thought maybe you…"

"Do you have any idea what they did to Rachel?" She asked evenly. Sam didn't answer, just hung his head. Santana turned to the group. "Do any of you? This is not Quinn Fabray, head bitch in charge of the McKinley High cheerleading squad we're dealing with here. This is Quinn Fabray, psychotic cunt who shot one of your best friends in the fucking head. Quinn Fabray, head bitch in charge of an army of sadistic little freaks who enjoy nothing more than beating people up, cutting bits off of them and setting them on fire. And none of you have the first fucking clue! This is not a fucking video game, you don't get to come back to life when you die. Finn isn't going to just stroll back in here with the sheet music for Eye of the fucking Tiger and lead you all in a fucking sing off. And the sooner you all wake up to that fact the better."

Santana glared around the room, waiting for any kind of response. When none came she turned and walked out. Puck stepped forward and clapped Sam on the shoulder, gripping hard.

"Nice going, butt munch. Any other bright ideas?"

"Come on, Puck, we have to…"

"I don't want to hear it!" Puck hissed at him. "I don't want to hear any of it, from any of you! Santana's right, you have no idea what went down in there, what she's been through to get here. You think she just walked out of there tonight?"

"Everybody be quiet." Cara said from the window. "They're here."


	12. Chapter 12

Rachel tried the door but it was locked. She could hear a piano playing a mournful tune. Where was it coming from?

"Turn around." She heard someone singing. It sounded so close and so far away at the same time.

She pressed her ear up to the door. It was so cold. Her heart started to beat wildly.

"Turn around." The voice came again. Finn's voice. Right in her ear.

She spun around. The corridor was empty. It was long and dimly lit.

Rachel was scared. Her mouth was dry and her head hurt. She tried to call out to him but she couldn't make her mouth open.

She ran her shaking hands down her skirt, her fingers catching on the buttons. Something wasn't right, she could feel it. She pulled her cardigan tighter around herself and took a tentative step forward.

A she moved slowly forward she could make out vague images, flashes or memories maybe. She couldn't hold on to them long enough to make sense of them. A floating feather, a sparkling tiara, frozen liquid spiralling through the air.

She became aware of rows of lockers on either side of her and she stopped to lean against them. The metal wasn't cold, not like the door, but it felt strange. Like reaching out to steady yourself on a chair that someone had just moved away. Still, as she touched them she heard music again, still distant, but soothing somehow.

Rachel moved towards the sound but it seemed to be moving further away. She turned around and moved slightly in the other direction. Her head was so fuzzy, she just wished she could concentrate.

"...like a house of cards…"

She tilted her head, straining to work out which direction the sound was coming from. She was so tired. She just wanted to sit down on the floor and go to sleep.

She took another step forward and the sound was gone. Frantically she turned back and listened for it again.

Silence.

She moved quicker, desperate to get it back.

Nothing.

She turned and ran the opposite way. There was a door. She rattled the handle but it was also locked. She dropped her head against it and slid down to the floor. This was hopeless. The tears fell freely down her face. She couldn't do this. She didn't know where she was, where she was going, how she got here, what to do. And she was so tired. She could just rest here for a while. When she woke up maybe things would be clearer.

"...don't forget me...I beg…"

Rachel's head snapped up. Santana?

She pushed herself to her feet and listened again.

A drum had started up further down the hall. She moved towards it, trying to call out but still unable to open her mouth.

The drum was slightly louder now and she hurried towards it, soft voices starting up in time with the beat.

Suddenly there was a loud bang and the music stopped. Rachel's heart felt like a cold, dead weight in her chest. Tears came to her eyes again and she put her hand to her chest, her breath ragged.

To her left was a set of double doors. She turned towards them and pressed her ear up.

She heard loud applause and cheers from the other side. Tentatively she put her hand on the handle and pushed down.

The doors swung open to reveal an empty auditorium.

Rachel stepped inside, the applause echoing in her ears like a distant memory. There was a lone spotlight centre stage, the only light in the space. She began to walk slowly down the aisle.

The soft introduction of a song started up in the distance. She knew the song. She knew it as well as her own name. She knew it wasn't hers.

"I don't know why I'm frightened…"

The tears fell freely down her face as he stepped half into the spotlight. It felt like she hadn't seen him in years. She had missed him so much, and she felt like she would miss him for her whole life. This was wrong. He shouldn't be here. What was he doing here?

She continued to make her way through the gloom as he sang, her hands gripping the seats as she passed each one. Her fingers remembered the feel of them, she could picture the velvet covers, hear the performances she had enjoyed from here.

Every fibre in her being was telling her that this was a performance she shouldn't be watching, that she could have stopped it from taking place.

As she made her way up the steps to the stage the song was ending. She walked slowly across the stage to join her friend in the spotlight. He turned as she reached it.

"No, Rachel." Kurt said, smiling softly. "It's not for you. Not yet."

She shook her head and reached out for him, silent tears twisting her face.

"...shine a light through an open door…" Santana's voice sang in the distance.

Rachel turned her head to the empty auditorium, straining to see her.

"It's time to trust your instincts," Kurt told her, squeezing her hand as he stepped fully into the spotlight. "Close your eyes."

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The hand slipped away.

* * *

Rachel felt sick. Her head was banging, the pain in her face was almost unbearable. And she was so sad, she felt like her heart was breaking.

There was so much noise. Where was it coming from? Her eyes opened but she couldn't make sense of anything. She started coughing but something was tied around her head, she couldn't open her mouth, and every cough sent a jolt through her face that had her seeing stars.

Panic set in. She sat up quickly, the action almost sending her body into shock. She lifted her hands up in an effort to hold her head still, stop the pain, stop the spinning, tear it off, she didn't know. What she did know was that her right arm felt like it was breaking in half when she did, causing her to scream out in pain, which set off her face again.

Her body tried to shut back down and she fought to regain control. Desperately trying to slow down her breathing and not move she held herself in position, terrifying sounds assaulting her from every angle. As she began to calm down she became aware of a warm, wet weight on her legs. Slowly she opened her eyes, somehow already knowing and preparing herself for what she would see there.

Kurt lay at an unnatural angle over her lower legs, blood still flowing from a hole in his chest. She closed her eyes again and used her good hand to stifle her sobs. This couldn't be happening. This wasn't how their lives were supposed to be, they were supposed to be in New York, their names in lights, eating breakfast at Tiffany's.

A strangled cry from the hallway brought her back to reality. She pulled her legs out from under him carefully and stood up next to the bed, staggering slightly as if she had never used them before. She turned back to the bed and gently closed his eyes, pressing a kiss to his forehead as her tears fell onto him. She held her position for a moment, silently telling him that she loved him, she would miss him, that she would give anything to have been able to save him.

Then she stood up, straightened her shoulders and started to cross the room.

The door was slightly open. As she moved around the bed she could see two figures on the floor in the hall, one on her back, arms above her in a defensive position, the other straddling her, fists raining down blows to her face.

Rachel's progress was slow and unsteady. She willed herself to move faster but knew that if she did she would most likely fall. She had no idea what she would do when she got to them but she knew she had to try.

Just as she reached out to grab the door the blonde let out a yell and landed a particularly powerful blow to her opponents arm. Rachel heard a loud snapping sound and a gut wrenching cry of pain as good arm pulled broken one in protectively. Santana's defenses were down, giving Quinn ever more access to her now exposed face. As Rachel pulled the door open Santana's half closed eyes caught sight of her and widened in fear, her arms dropping completely. Quinn locked both her hands above her head and let out a roar as she went to bring them down on Santana's face.

Rachel threw herself at her with everything she had. Quinn let out a surprised grunt as she was knocked off Santana, winded as Rachel landed on top of her, but the impact sent Rachel back into another downward spiral of pain and nausea, leaving her completely defenseless as Quinn retaliated.

Through the fog of pain and confusion she felt herself be rolled onto her back and strong hands wrap around her neck. She opened her eyes to see Quinn on top of her, murderous rage contorting her features. Santana shot up and wrapped her good arm around Quinn's neck, trying desperately to pull her off, but Quinn slammed her elbow into Santana's already broken face and she went down. Rachel tried desperately to fight back but Quinn's knees were on her arms and the binding on her head meant she couldn't even breathe properly to begin with.

Everything started to go black and Rachel fought against it with everything she had, fighting the pain and bucking violently against Quinn, the other girl's laughter making her fight even harder.

Then there was a shot and everything stopped. The pressure on her neck was gone, there was moisture on her face and the laughter silenced. She felt a hand slip under her neck and try to pull her up gently.

"Rachel, are you okay?" She heard through the ringing in her ears.

She opened her eyes, her throat burning, desperately trying to cough in a way that didn't hurt her. Quinn was on the floor to her right, bullet hole in her right temple. Satana was in a crumpled heap by her feet and people were running in from every angle.

Puck was kneeling down the corridor to her left, head in his hands, still holding the gun.

She turned to Mike, who was holding her up and still trying to get her attention. She nodded to him that she was okay and pointed frantically towards Santana. He shuffled over to her and rolled her over. She came to with a cry of pain as her broken arm dropped to the floor. Pulling it protectively to her body she turned quickly and took in the scene. Her eyes locked onto Rachel's and she pulled herself over, wrapped her good arm around her and broke down on her shoulder.


	13. Chapter 13

Santana stared out across the water. She pulled her jacket tighter around her and inhaled the sea air. She was still getting used to her life. Her life. She could finally be herself here. She could do anything she wanted. Almost. If she could just forget.

They had been here about three months. After Puck had shot Quinn the Cheerios had scattered like the cockroaches they were. She didn't know where they had gone and she didn't care. The only people she cared about, the only people she had ever cared about were either dead or in that house.

The survivors had taken some time to survey the damage and patch themselves up before packing up and driving back to the school, via the bar. They had buried Finn and Kurt in the football field, under the ruined goal posts, and allowed themselves to grieve for their fallen friends and prepare to head out of the town for good.

Despite silent protests from Rachel, and not so silent ones from Tina, Santana and Cara had travelled separately to the school, taking Quinn's body back to the mansion and using the tunnel for the final time. They laid her out next to Brittany and covered their bodies in gasoline, using one can around the rest of the house before loading the rest of their stockpile up in the van, along with Santana's bike and whichever of their possessions they could quickly pack.

Santana had sat in the back of the truck, lit a cigarette and thrown the match down onto the trail, waiting for it to catch before giving the signal to Cara to drive. By the time they got down the hill the flames were visible for miles. They parked up and watched it burn, Cara producing a bottle of Jim Beam for Santana.

She had allowed herself a few minutes to remember the two girls she had loved for much of her life as they used to be. She looked at the picture she had rescued from the house, the three of them in their cheerleader uniforms, in the choir room. Britt was saying something that had made her laugh. Quinn had her eyes shut, a look of exasperation on her face.

Santana smiled sadly at the memory, wiped a tear from her face and shoved the picture into the pocket of her bag. She got in the front of the truck with Cara and they headed to meet the others at the school.

It had taken them three days to drive to Mexico, a little over a week to find a way in now the borders were all closed. They hadn't gone through all that just to be shot by some Mexican border guard.

They had set up camp near a place called Rancho las Enrramadas and gone about rebuilding their lives. They were all injured to some degree and Santana's father had done the best he could at patching them up with the supplies they could beg, borrow or steal, but the one they were all the most concerned about was Blaine. He had fallen apart when they had buried Kurt, cried in the back of the car for the first two hundred miles, then stopped. He had barely spoken since. He had shaved his head and spent all his time training. The only person who could even get close to him was Sam, and even he could only get a few words out of him.

Santana couldn't help but feel bad when she thought back to their conversation. Blaine had wanted to run. She wondered what would have happened if they had. Would they have made it? She shook her head and wandered down the beach. It was pointless to think of it. Quinn had arrived less than five minutes after that argument, there's no way they would have got out. They would have been slaughtered in the street.

She picked up two stones that had washed up, pressed a kiss to each one and threw them into the ocean. Then sadly she picked up two more and repeated the action. Slower, this time, the weight of regret in her arms. She sat down on the sand and hugged her knees into her chest, turning her thoughts from the past to the future.

The nagging thought at the back of her mind returned. Stronger this time. She knew it would. She knew it would never let her be. She knew what her future held. She couldn't hide from it any more.

Arms wrapped around her from behind and legs slid either side of her. She sighed as Rachel pressed a kiss into her neck and rested her chin on her shoulder.

"You okay, baby?" Rachel asked softly.

Santana nodded and turned her face to kiss her. She ran her hand over Rachel's jaw, her thumb gently circling the lump there from where it hadn't set straight. She deepened the kiss and rested her head against Rachel's when it ended.

"I love you." She whispered.

"I know." Rachel replied. "But you've decided, haven't you?"

Santana closed her eyes and nodded, their heads still pressed together.

"So what do you want to do?"

She sighed deeply. "I want to get Sue Sylvester."

Rachel didn't say anything. After a moment she nodded and stood up, holding her hands out for Santana's. She pulled her up and kissed her.

"Then let's go."


End file.
